


Within the Chaos

by hokshi



Category: Free!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Domestic Fluff, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Reader-Insert, Rough Sex, Single Parents, Third Time's the Charm, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, finally gonna be on time for natsuya's bday this year, fluff for days and weeks, i hope you're not lactose intolerant bc there will be CHEESE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:40:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25971496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hokshi/pseuds/hokshi
Summary: Within the chaos of life and family, you can find many things if you stop and look carefully enough.Single dad!Natsuya au
Relationships: Kirishima Natsuya/Reader
Comments: 31
Kudos: 148





	1. There is Change

**Author's Note:**

> it seems i have switched occupations from horny without a cause to pillow stuffer bc boy do i have enough fluff to suffocate you with. did i take away everything we know and love about fuckboy natsuya when i turned him into a father? perhaps. but it was fun for me to explore his personality through another lens by writing this, so i hope you can enjoy this interpretation of him too. 
> 
> chapters will be released in a countdown to natsuya's bday. ilysm my stupid, perfect himbo.

Leave it to your sister to call you just as you get home asking for a favor that requires you to head out once more. You groan as she frantically apologizes and begs you to pick up her daughter from nursery school because her husband is in a meeting and forgot that she had an evening shift at the hospital tonight. 

“Fine, fine. I’m leaving now.” You tell her as you change out of your work clothes into something more comfortable for the bike ride you’ll have to make out to your niece’s school. 

After hanging up from your sister’s overbearing thanks, you grab the bike with the child’s seat attached from the front yard of the house and take off down the street. You sigh as you enjoy the breeze of the ride. It’s not like you mind dropping everything to pick up your adorable niece, but you feel bad for her because she’s likely not going to see either of her parents tonight before bed. 

Your brother-in-law is busy enough as it is being a rather important manager at his government job and always has last minute meetings and tasks to attend to, so he’s not home often anyway. And your sister tries to keep things regular for her daughter but it’s hard when her hospital can be easily short staffed and she has no choice but to take up some weird time shifts. Helping them out isn’t anything new for you, but it’s definitely gotten harder on them since they put little Akari into nursery school this year. Everyone is getting used to these new routines. 

Still, you help out whenever you can since you’re basically living in your sister’s family’s house for free while you save up for your own apartment in the city. You’ve never been one for kids but you can’t possibly hate your little niece, no matter how much energy she saps out of you and everyone around her. 

Skidding to a gentle stop by the bike racks, you kick out the stand and head inside to look for your little energy ball. “Hello,” you greet the teachers in the classroom before peeking inside to look for a familiar 3-year-old face. And there she is, lying on the floor giggling with another little girl while another man sits beside them, watching with a gentle smile. “Aka-chan.” You call out. 

Both Akari and her friend freeze up with small o’s rounding their mouths before they both sit up in a frenzy and Akari calls back to you, “Auntie [Name]!” 

“Are you ready to go?” You ask as you flip through the signout book and search for Akari’s name. 

“Hey, hey, Auntie [Name].” Akari bounds up to you with pattering steps, pressing her hands against the short wall at the edge of the classroom that you’re using as a makeshift desk to sign the booklet. She looks up to you with her big, puppy eyes and asks, “Can we go with Yume-chan to the park today? Yume-chan’s Papa said he’d take us!” 

“Eh? The park?” You glance at your watch that reads about six in the evening before looking over to Akari’s friend, Yumeko, and who you assume to be Yumeko’s father. “This late? I don’t know Aka-chan…” 

What follows is a series of whiny protests and child logic that you barely follow because you don’t understand any of their inside jokes, so you look to Yumeko’s dad for aid, but all he does is smile and shrug. You’ve heard of Akari’s good friend but you’ve never once met her parents, let alone thought about what they’d look like. But considering Yumeko is a fairly gorgeous kid, you suppose you shouldn’t be surprised that her dad looks like quite the stud. And when he stands to follow Yumeko towards where you and Akari are by the short classroom “gate,” you see that he’s tall too. 

“Uh, actually I said I’d wait for Akari-chan’s mom or dad to come and we’d ask, so if it’s too late for you, we totally understand.” The handsome dad pats little Yumeko’s head. 

“Uhhhh…” You run through several simulations, but the fact that Akari and Yumeko seem completely adverse to parting and you’d be bringing your niece home to an empty house anyway, you come to the conclusion that it couldn’t hurt. Also, they’re begging now, and if someone was capable of turning down not one, but  _ two _ pairs of adorable puppy dog eyes, then they are far stronger than you. “I don’t mind, since your mom and dad won’t be home until late tonight, but are you sure you won’t be hungry or anything?” 

The two girls assure you that they’re completely fine, and after some back and forth between you and Yumeko’s dad, the four of you leave the school together and ride down the two blocks it takes to get to the nearby park. The girls had an absolute ball waving to each other from their individual bike seats. 

It’s only when the little monsters are running around in the sand and climbing up the play structure that you finally get a name to match to the handsome face, “I’m Kirishima Natsuya, by the way. Yumeko’s dad, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now.” 

You shake his offered hand and file away the thought that it is quite large and feels strong surrounding yours to tell him your own name, “I’m Akari’s aunt. I don’t usually come to pick her up but both her parents are busy tonight, so hopefully I’m not breaking any rules by letting her hang out with her friend this late.” 

Natsuya laughs and rests his bent arms along the back of the bench, looking completely at ease, “I’ve met Akari’s mom a few times, and we’ve done this once before, so I’m sure you’re fine.” 

“Well, alright then.” Come to think of it, your sister did mention there was an attractive and single parent in Akari’s class that garnered some attention before. Natsuya definitely fills one of those descriptions, and now that you’re here with him, you can’t help but wonder if he checks off on the other. 

“So do you have any children of your own?” He asks, and you’re thrown for a loop by how pretty his eyes are up close when you turn away from the playground to answer him. You almost forget to altogether.

“N-No, I don’t. I uh…” You turn away, suddenly nervous under his gaze, “I’ve been focusing on work and my career. I don’t know if having kids is for me.” 

“Oh yeah?” He says, “I get that. I was the same before Yume came along. She was unplanned but with how everything happened, I couldn’t stay away once I held her in my arms.” 

You turn back to see that Natsuya is watching his daughter fondly as she runs around the perimeter of the play structure chasing Akari. There is no mistaking the love and tenderness he has for that little girl. “You seem like you took up the father role pretty well.” You mention. 

“It wasn’t easy. It still isn’t.” He admits, “There are definitely times when I still have no idea what I’m doing, which is why I’m lucky that Yume is so independent.” 

“At three years old?” You laugh. “Well, she did make a compelling argument about how the sand is best on Fridays at first.” 

Natsuya laughs too, and it’s quite an attractive sound. God, this guy must’ve been a charmer back in the day. He probably still could be. He doesn’t look all that old or anything. Maybe you should find an opportunity to ask… 

“So what do you do anyway? Since you’re not looking to dedicate your life to kids at the moment.” He comes at you first. 

You give him a short description about your job and what it entails, as well as your plan to eventually switch over to another branch or maybe a different company that will hopefully be in the city. 

“Hmm?” Natsuya hums, taking one of his arms off the back of the bench to shift his sitting position more towards you. “Why the city? This town too small for your big dreams?” 

“That’s not it.” You shrug, wondering how much you should be talking about yourself to this man you just met, “I just… guess I need a change of pace. I’ve got too much to fall back on here, what with family and friends and this easy, stable job. It’s comfortable, but… I guess I just want something more.” 

“That’s pretty cool, if you ask me. It’s a big world out there.” 

You don’t know why you’re suddenly glowing just because a hot guy approved of your plans, but you’ll take it. “Yeah? You sound like you know.” 

“Actually, I used to travel around the world to swim.” He says in a tone that’s as casual as if he was recommending a new shampoo. 

“What?” You blink. 

Now it’s your turn to learn about how he used to swim freelance all around the world when he was younger, entering international swimming competitions for prize money of all things. Which he would then use to travel to his next destination before he eventually settled back home in Japan to train competitively for the national team. And on top of all that, he just drops the fact that he made it to the last  _ Tokyo Olympics _ before his daughter was born about a year later... 

How the heck are you supposed to take all of this in? Now you’re just staring at him with an open jaw and no intelligible response in sight. He actually has to physically push your chin up to close your mouth and bring you back down to earth. “Oh my gosh,” you back away in surprise, apologizing. But he only laughs heartily in response. 

“No, no. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist, your expression was too cute. I just had to see how you’d respond.” He doesn’t stop laughing for a bit after that, leaving you to sit and steam in disbelief. How can he be saying all of this? You’d never expect this from a guy with a 3-year-old. 

“You’re not going to get in trouble for saying stuff like that, Natsuya-san?” You attempt to joke back.

“No, not in particular. I’m not married or anything.” His chuckles die down but he still smiles at you when he asks, “Should I be worried for saying that to you though?” 

“Well… no. Not in particular.” You parrot dumbly, hoping you don’t have to say more about how you’re painfully single. So you opt to change the subject. “But how do you just spring all of that on someone? You traveled and lived all around the world on whim? And you were an olympic athlete? How do I even fathom that?!” 

“Well it’s the truth. I don’t know what else to tell you. I’m still training even now, but I likely won’t be able to make the next Olympics because of this little one right there.” He juts his chin out to gesture at Yumeko, “But once she’s old enough to go to school on her own and everything, I’ll probably be able to put more focus back into my own career too.” 

“That’s… wow, I don’t even know what to say.” You shake your head, almost dizzy from everything you’ve learned about Natsuya in the past ten minutes. “You’re an incredible individual.” 

“Thanks, I’m trying.” he laughs again, “But anyway, what about you? What do you—”

“Papa!!” Yumeko and Akari sprint forward at breakneck speed before she all but slams into her father’s chest. However, Natsuya sweeps her up upon impact and even lifts her high above his head before gracefully dropping her into his lap. 

You, on the other hand, were completely unprepared and got a small 3-year-old head butted into your stomach when Akari followed her friend’s lead and attempted to jump into your lap. An embarrassing choking sound is throttled from your throat as you keel over to hold your niece in a weak embrace. “Aka-chan!” you cry out in pain. 

“Ah! Sorry, Auntie [Name].” Akari looks up at you when she slides back onto her feet. 

On the side, Natsuya laughs while Yumeko asks if you’re okay. And if you hadn’t just had the air knocked out of you, you’d probably be wondering why the roles aren’t reversed between them. 

By the time you recollect yourself, Yumeko and Akari have already announced their hunger and Natsuya agrees that it’s time to get going anyway. “But hey, since we’re all together anyway, what do you girls say we have dinner together too?” 

You’re quick to hesitate, but Akari and Yumeko are already celebrating getting to stay together for another hour. And though you know there’s food at home for you to cook, you suppose it can’t hurt just for tonight. You’re all out together anyway, and maybe you have a small ulterior motive to get to know Natsuya a little better. 

So you follow along to the family restaurant and let the girls choose their orders, an exciting opportunity they don’t usually get. You at least remain solid on your stance on soda, allowing only a fruit juice instead. Though with the girls chattering away with each other and you and Natsuya, you don’t really get much of a chance to get to know the hot, single dad as you had hoped. 

You do get to see Natsuya candidly interacting with his daughter though, which is  _ so _ adorable. Unfairly so. In a weird way, he’s quite flirty with his daughter too. He doesn’t fall all over for her and listen to her every whim or give her the princess treatment like you kind of expected him to, but rather meets her every comment with a playful retort, a cheeky question, or some tickling. He doesn’t always talk to her like she’s three, maybe more of a cute junior. But Yumeko still appropriately reacts like a three-year-old, with lots of giggles and hugs and pouts. Natsuya had called her independent, but she still clearly loves her dad a lot. 

You find yourself smiling a lot the rest of that evening. Even Akari notices when you’ve returned home after you’ve already parted ways with Natsuya and Yumeko. “Are you happy, Auntie [Name]? You’re all smiley!” 

“I am?” You ask reflexively before feeling your lips fall back into their normal position. They had indeed been stretching your cheeks up for a while, you notice with the soreness. “I’m just glad you had a good time with Yume-chan. Did you have fun?” 

“Yeah! It was great! I wanna go again next time!” Akari exclaims. 

To that, you laugh. If you got to see Natsuya again, you honestly wouldn’t mind going again either. “We’ll tell your mom about it and see what she thinks, okay? For now, let’s get you a bath.” 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


Your sister seems completely onboard after hearing all the details about the previous evening’s adventure during lunch the next day. Actually, she seems more so interested in what you thought about Yumeko’s hot father. “I’ve told you about him before, right? How he’s like the hottest and rarest commodity among the staff and parents at the nursery.” She gushes from the kitchen sink. 

“You mentioned a hot, single dad before, yeah. Is that him?” 

“Yes! Not only is he a total stud and barely 30, but he’s a total hit with all the dads who freak out over his olympic medals and the fact that he’s still swimming professionally.” She explains, “And I think at Akari’s school, there’s only a small handful of single moms but they were like  _ sharks _ during orientation, I tell you! Insane!” 

“I bet,” you laugh, clearing the table and setting the remaining dishes into the sink where your sister is cleaning them. “But wow, he’s won medals before? I was going to google him last night but I thought it’d be weird.” 

“Yeah, from what I’ve heard. Not gold or anything yet, but he’s still trying for it. Which is amazing in and of itself.” She sighs, scrubbing at the plates, likely reflecting on how busy her own life has become after having had a child. “Anyway, you said you sat at the park and even had a dinner date with him. What’d you think?” 

“What do you mean ‘what do I think’? And we were chaperoning the girls, it wasn’t a date.” You suddenly grow defensive, “He’s a cool dad, I guess?” 

“Uh huh.” She scoffs, “So why’s Aka telling me that you looked ‘super duper happy’ talking with Yume-chan’s daddy?” 

“He was in the Olympics! Who wouldn’t look stupidly excited talking to a pro athlete??” 

“So you wouldn’t care to know that Natsuya texted me about you?” 

You’re silent. Frozen. You don’t even turn to look at your sister and you already know she’s got the upper hand. “A-About me?” 

“Mmhhhhmmm.” She nods, rinsing the dishes and placing them on the drying rack. Each clatter of a new dish added builds your anticipation like a wall of bricks. When she finally shuts off the water and pulls off her gloves, she continues, “He told me about your night out and how I have a lovely and caring sister.”

“O-Oh. That’s it?” You bluff, “You had me worried there for a second.” 

“He also mentioned how much Yumeko loved the playdate and is hoping for another soon and that he’d be happy to chaperone. If you want to join in for me, I’d be totally okay with that.” She teases. 

“Stop it, Sis.” You groan, “I am  _ not _ using your child as a reason to get closer to Natsuya-san.” 

“Who said anything about that? I’m suggesting it as a free day for myself.” She insists, “And you know… if you happen to be interested enough in Yumeko’s dad to want to see him more often, you could pick up Aka more and I could be more flexible with my work shifts.” 

“Why the heck would you want more evening shifts?” 

“If I can’t do it all myself, I’d rather depend on someone to pick up my child instead of dropping her off every morning.” 

“So just  _ ask _ me to do it!” You almost shout at all these roundabout excuses. “I’m your sister, you don’t have to hesitate to ask me to help out with Aka-chan. Even if it has to be more often.” 

“Okay, fine. Thanks.” She sighs, patting your arm, “You’re the best.”

“It’s the least I can do.” You remind her. 

“And you’ve also been single for over a year now.” 

“UGH!!” You storm out of the kitchen, ignoring your sister’s pealing laughter calling after you about how it was all just jokes. 

She’s never been all that funny. 

  
  


*

  
  
  


True to your word though, you agree to pick up Akari more often because with the staffing situation at the hospital, your sister really does have no choice but to deal with the shitty evening shifts to balance out everyone’s schedules. Your brother-in-law promises he’ll take up the task on the rare days he’ll get off work at humane hours, but otherwise, you’ve agreed to pick up your niece about 2-3 days of the week, depending on your sister’s schedule. 

During the first week taking up the task more regularly, sometimes you see Yumeko still there and sometimes she’s already been picked up. You try not to be relieved or disappointed that you don’t run into the attractive, single father who surprisingly makes you a bit nervous. Which is ridiculous! You’re a grown woman with plenty of experience of your own, who has a pretty good idea of what you want in life and in a potential partner. Why should you be nervous around some hot guy? 

Sure, he’s a lot more accomplished and impressive than your average joe but he’s still a regular guy. Yumeko makes sure of that. And despite your sister’s light attempts at meddling, you’re sure that someone like Natsuya is going to take something like dating more seriously since he’s got a child. It’s not like he’d develop a sudden interest in you after meeting you once. 

“[Name]-san!” 

To your surprise, it’s Akari’s little brown-haired friend who calls out to you in greeting. “Hi there, Yumeko-chan. Do you know where Aka-chan is?” You smile at her as you approach the signout booklet to start flipping for Akari’s name. 

“Nope!” Yumeko’s smile is too wide for her to be telling the truth, so you’ll make an educated guess that she’s hiding somewhere obvious. 

“Oh gee, then I guess I’m gonna have to look for her.” You ponder dramatically, “I wonder where she—” 

“BOO!”

Though you expected something like this, it was nothing to this extent. You’re so shocked by the broad and tall figure that pops out from behind the short classroom wall that you not only shriek and drop the pen, but you also stumble back and almost fall on your butt. It’s not until you’re trying to steady your heartbeat again that you realize the culprit was none other than Natsuya holding up Akari in front of his face. 

They and everyone else left in the classroom are laughing happily as you pick yourself up and pant, “Oh jeez, that surprised me… Aka-chan, is Natsuya-san teaching you how to give people heart attacks?” 

“No!” Akari giggles. 

“Sorry, we didn’t know you’d scare so badly.” Natsuya laughs as well, and his unadulterated attractiveness wells your urge to clobber his face. “But it really was quite funny.” 

“Sure, have a laugh at my expense.” You shake your head and return to the signout booklet, “I’ll be sure to get you right back next time.” After you sign your name and slam the pen down, you look back up at Natsuya defiantly before announcing, “Ready to go, Akari-chan?” 

“Okay!” She runs to grab her things from her cubby, Yumeko right on her tail. 

“I really am sorry if I scared you too much,” Natsuya says again, this time with a more genuine smile, “We just happened to see you arrive from the window, so I thought we’d pull a little prank together.” 

“Well you sure know how to make the most out of one. You got the whole classroom in an uproar.” You smile back, shaking your head, “And don’t worry. I’m not that faint of heart.” 

However Natsuya chooses to take that, you can’t even guess, but the way his eyes change in his smile makes you a little nervous again. You’re not entirely sure if it’s in a good way or bad way. But luckily, the girls have returned with their belongings at that point, so you’re free to depart. 

“Well, how about I make it up to you anyway? Let’s all go for ice cream! My treat.” He offers as you all walk towards the bike racks. 

“Ice cream?!” The girls light up. 

“Ice cream…?” You echo, unsure. It’s one thing to let the girls play together and have a meal, but to give her sweets without approval? Your sister hasn’t ever been too cautious about indulgences for her daughter, but now that it’s on your watch… 

“Auntie [Name], can we get ice cream??” Akari asks with her pouty face and eyes. 

“I don’t know, Aka-chan. Your Papa said he’d be home for dinner tonight. I thought we were going to cook your favorite curry to eat together.” It’s more of an excuse. It doesn’t take that long to make the curry, and you already have all the ingredients in the house. 

“Ehh…” Akari pouts, then looks to Yumeko and back to you. 

“That’s okay.” Natsuya pipes in, “Why don’t we save the ice cream date for next time?”

“Okay!” Akari agrees, and Yumeko nods along enthusiastically. 

“Sure.” You smile at the girls before turning back to Natsuya, “I’ll feel better about getting permission from her mom about it first, too.” 

“I totally get it.” Natsuya says, “We’ll see you next time then.” 

You breathe a sigh of relief when you and Natsuya separate in different directions on your bikes, wondering how he might scare you next. 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


As you continue to pick up Akari for the next few weeks, you run into Natsuya a little more frequently. Sometimes one of you is on the way out and the other is just arriving to pick up, sometimes you end up in the classroom at the same time as you wait for the kids to finish their current game, and sometimes you even leave together for another impromptu playdate. 

There have been two more after school playdates so far; one to the promised ice cream stop, and another to the same park they hung out at before. And over this period of time, you’ve had a growing number of conversations with Natsuya. 

Some things you learned about him include his athletic training and schedule, his fellow pro swimmer brother, his athletic trainer best friend, his upbringing in Iwatobi, his preference for food, clothes, drinks, and hobbies and how they’ve changed over the years since having a child. You also learn that he has an incredible amount of stamina — you have never seen anyone tirelessly play airplane with two different kids for as long as he has. 

“I’m sure he’s got plenty of energy for plenty of things.” You sister had teased over the mug of tea she was sipping. 

You had rolled your eyes and escaped to your room, but you still couldn’t help letting your mind wander a bit on evenings after you interacted with Natsuya. Sometimes your conversations did edge towards flirty, and you’re absolutely positive that he knows how to use his body outside of sports and playing with children. He has a confident air about him that makes it obvious, as well as a pro athlete’s body that magnetizes eyes and pheromones straight towards him. 

Your simple curiosity has long grown into potential romantic interest in him, yet there’s something about him that makes you cautious. You don’t know what it is, but something keeps holding you back from making a flirty comment that might go too far or lead to a date that doesn’t involve playing with children. It could be the fact that he’s already a father? Dating a single dad has all kinds of conditions and complications that don’t come with dating a guy without kids. 

Not that you have any problem with guys with kids. If anything, Natsuya — and all the dads you interact with from the nursery school, for that matter — shows maturity and loyalty that’s harder to find in regular old bachelors. And if anything, it proves that he’s not afraid of commitment and family because he’s already living that life with Yumeko. 

Maybe it’s the fact that he’s hot and kind of famous? In the swimming world, at least. He’s probably used to being pursued or having options available, and you don’t want to seem desperate? In the past, with guys like that, you usually had to let them play chase in order to keep their attention. Would you have to do something like that with someone like Natsuya? Are you too old for that? 

Whatever it is, your gut is telling you to take it slow, so you opt to listen. And when your sister tells you about a picnic gathering with a few nursery kids and their parents, you decline the invitation to go in her place. “First of all, Aka-chan is your kid, not mine. Why the heck would I go? Second of all, you need to stop pushing me into these situations trying to get me closer to Natsuya-san. It’s starting to get obvious. And if he was interested, don’t you think he would’ve done something about it already?” 

“Well, he’s already put quite an effort into getting to know you compared to the other single women at the school. I’m sure if you put yourself out there a little more, he’d bite the bait.” She leans in with an expression that’s equal parts encouraging and mischievous. 

“He’s a pro athlete training to return to the  _ Olympics _ , Sis. And he has a child to take care of by himself.” You retort, “I don’t know if he wants to add ‘dating his daughter’s best friend’s aunt’ to the mix.” 

“Well, you never know until you try!” 

Hopeless. 

“Why does it have to be Natsuya-san anyway?” You demand, “I’m perfectly capable of finding another guy to date if I want to.” 

“So why don’t you then?” She asks, “You’re not getting any younger. And I know you want a boyfriend. I just don’t see why you aren’t pursuing such a prime candidate.” 

“How is he a prime candidate?” 

“Just look at him!” She laughs. 

She argues with you back and forth about Natsuya’s attractive points for longer than you’d think appropriate for someone with a loving husband. Still, you stand your ground and make it clear that you will not be attending the picnic. 

Yet somehow, she finds a way. You should have figured. 

You’re at home on the day of, relaxing with a cup of tea and a TV show you’ve been meaning to catch up on, when your phone rings. Somehow, she had ‘forgotten’ the cookies they had made for the potluck and needed you to bring them over to them at the park. 

“You’re not serious.” You deadpan as you walk into the kitchen and see the box of cookies placed on top of the refrigerator.

“I swear it wasn’t on purpose!” she insists. “I put them on top of the fridge to keep them out of the way while we were cleaning up. I had so many other things to prepare that I honestly, legitimately forgot. Just bring them over? Please?” 

You’re already heading to your room to change as she asks, so you groan before telling her you’re on your way. After throwing on some casual athletic gear — you don’t feel like putting on makeup to go with a cuter outfit — you grab the box and head out. Luckily, the cookies fit in the basket of the bicycle you use to pick up Akari. 

About half an hour later, you cross the grassy field searching for the right crowd of kids and parents. You’re about to pull out your phone to call your sister when she calls out your name. Turning towards the direction of her voice, you see her waving wildly so you can spot her. You wave back in acknowledgement as you approach their blankets. 

You’re forced to greet and acknowledge other parents that you recognize as your sister comes up to take the box from you, “Thank you so much! I swear I wouldn’t go that far to get you out here.” 

“Sure.” You say, still completely unsure about how truthful she’s being. 

“But since you’re here anyway, why don’t you join us for a bit?” She suggests. “We’ve got plenty of food and drinks. And now we even have the dessert!” 

“No, I really don’t think that’s necessary.” You shake your head. 

“Don’t be shy, [Name]-san. Please, please. Here, have a soda.” Another parent waves you towards the blanket, handing you a cola. 

Great. 

You chat with a few of the gathered parents on the blanket for a few minutes, and just when you’re starting to wonder where a certain parent is among all of this, a frisbee lands by your feet. Looking up, you see a little boy charging towards you, but he’s still quite a distance away. So you pick up the frisbee and throw it right back to him. 

For a random throw without consideration of the wind direction, you manage to aim a pretty good landing because the frisbee ends up right in front of the boy. He shouts thank you before running back towards his friends and— 

Oop. There he is. 

Natsuya is the only adult among a few boys and Yumeko who are playing catch with the frisbee, and when he spots you, a smile appears on his face. He doesn’t wave at you or anything, but he walks over to say something to the boy who had just retrieved the stray frisbee. 

Not even a minute later, the same boy reappears before you and asks you to join the game. “Uhhh…” you hesitate.

“She’d love to join you!” Your sister answers, “[Name] here is really good at catch, you know. You’ll definitely want her on your team.” 

“Really?!” The boy lights up. “Can you be on my team then, big sis?” 

“Uh… sure.” 

And so you’re dragged into the frisbee game and pitted against Natsuya’s team of Yumeko and another 5-year-old boy, while you’ve got two 4-year-old boys on your side. “Hey, [Name]. Hope you’re ready to taste defeat.” He announces with his hands on his hips instead of a regular greeting. 

Well if he’s going to play it like that… “You’re on.” 

Somehow, you end up shouting commands at your teammates like you’re a coach at a championship game. Luckily, the boys are competitive, so they heed your directions well, but maybe you should be a little embarrassed to be taking a game with preschoolers so seriously. 

In your defense, Natsuya is not much better. He’s a lot harsher on Yumeko in this setting as he rushes her plays and relies heavily on passing to the more experienced 5-year-old. Everyone is having a blast though, evidenced by all the excited screaming and laughter traveling around the field. 

Your sister wasn’t wrong though when she said you were good at catch. You don’t do much outside of your trips to the gym anymore, but you had quite a good handle of a softball and a few other sports in the past. You’re glad to see you can at least still show up a few kids. Even Natsuya makes an impressed face when you intercept a rather high and long pass to his teammate. 

The game lasts for a little while longer before eventually the kids tire out one by one, leaving you and Natsuya to throw a few passes to one another just to show off your actual skill capacity. He’s pretty good with distance, considering he’s an athlete who likely plays sports even outside of swimming for fun, but his aim can’t match up to yours. 

When you finally walk back towards the blankets to join the others, he laughs beside you, “You were pretty good out there. Bit of a harsh coach though.”

“Me?! Did you hear what you were shouting at your own daughter?” You retort. 

You both joke around until you arrive at the huddle of picnic blankets, where everyone is enjoying a cookie or drink at the moment. Though you expect Natsuya to find a spot by Yumeko, who’s chatting with Akari and another girl their age, he actually plops down adjacent to you and your sister instead. 

“Yume’s a tough one. She handles criticism pretty well for her age.” He says proudly, grabbing a can of coffee from the pile of drinks. 

You glance over to where the three girls are playing with each other’s hair, trying to braid little flowers into them. You hum when a random thought comes to you, “I’m surprised she’s not a little more tomboyish, seeing how aggressive your play style can be now.” You joke. 

Natsuya laughs over his coffee, and you sneak a look at his sharp jaw. “When it comes to playtime, she’s definitely my kid through and through. But in every other aspect, she is actually quite the lady. Probably because she has so many girls as friends at the school.” 

“True. Aka-chan is as girly as it gets.” You nod.Your niece loves princesses and fashion and pink to the moon. You wouldn’t be surprised if she influenced Yumeko a bit. 

“I love it.” Natsuya smiles over at his daughter who’s attempting to make a flower bracelet now. “I do feel bad that I don’t know how to do some things properly for her though. Her ponytail was a mess the first time I tried.” 

You laugh as you imagine Natsuya fumbling with Yumeko’s thick, brown hair. It’s an adorable picture. Another thought comes to mind, but you hesitate before asking. Though, your sister has been purposely having a conversation with the parents on her opposite side, so you figure this is private enough. “Uhm… Does she get to see her mom often?” 

“Not really.” Natsuya sighs, like it can’t be helped, “Her mom trains year round to maintain a spot on the national soccer team in her country. So she only visits during a few major holidays about two or three times a year. Sometimes we make our way over to her though when I’m not busy with training.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” You have to back up and replay what he just said, “Yumeko-chan’s mom is a pro athlete too? And on the national team?” 

“Yeah, I never told you before?” Natsuya smiles casually, looking delighted at your surprised reaction. Why does he always have that kind of cheeky look on when you’re flabbergasted? More importantly, why is he always so casually flabbergasting?? 

“I knew Yume’s mom — Kaya’s her name — back when I was still traveling around the world, and I ran into her again at the Tokyo Olympic Village.” He laughs, “That’s where our little girl’s story begins, I guess.” 

“Wow…” You’re speechless. Natsuya did mention that Yumeko was unplanned, but you never even imagined that she’d be an Olympic Village baby… This man gets wilder and wilder the more you learn about him. And yet, you still want to know more. “So uh… So why did Yumeko-chan end up with you? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Not at all.” He puts his coffee can down to grab a cookie first, “It’s all really quite complicated, and the decisions were ultimately made by Kaya, but she had actually gotten a really bad leg injury during an Olympic game. At the time, she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to play soccer again, so I’m guessing that when she found out she was pregnant, she thought maybe having a child would provide some new purpose for her… 

“Which I’m sure it did. She loves Yume. But in the end, she couldn’t give up soccer. So when she told me she was going to put all her focus on rehabilitation and getting back on the field, I figured it’d be better to raise her in Japan with me. She could easily get birthright citizenship through me, and the government support for children is better here than in her country.” 

Natsuya pauses to finish off his coffee, which is probably better for you because you need a moment to take in and review this whole slew of information. “I suppose it’s not the ideal situation to raise a child in, but I really couldn’t bring myself to let go of that little girl.” He smiles down thoughtfully at the empty can in his hand. “Plus, Kaya and I didn’t have any intention to stay together as a couple, so I just took up the Papa role full time.” 

When Natsuya looks back up at you, you feel like you see a whole new dimension to him. He’s much more than just the hot, flirty, athletic, olympian, single dad. Even if he was the adventurous or even frivolous type that you pegged him to be in the past, he’s been through a lot and now he’s chosen the dedicated path of fatherhood. You feel slightly irked at the thought that this Kaya person would choose to have a child only to decide after the fact that she wants to put her focus on something else and leave all the child-rearing to the guy she hooked up with at the Olympic Village, but since you don’t know the full story, you won’t pry or judge. 

And to prove it, you say, “Well, I think you fit the role just fine. Yumeko-chan seems happy as can be.” 

“Thank you.” He smiles. It feels a little gentler than usual. 

“No, thank you for sharing with me.” You smile back. 

“Papa!!” A timely voice comes rushing in, and Yumeko stands in front of her dad to show off her new flower jewelry and hair, “Look at what we made!” 

“It’s beautiful.” Natsuya takes her hand and inspects the daisy bracelet closer, “A fine choice of flowers too. You girls look stunning. Here, let me take a picture.” 

“Auntie [Name]! Look at mine too!” Akari shoves her daisy-wrapped wrists in front of you, and you stutter out a few compliments of your own. 

“So pretty~ I should get one for myself next time.” 

“Do you want one?” Akari pulls off one of her daisy “rings” and holds it out to you. “You can have this one! Oh! And here!” After dropping the ring in your open palm, she leans down to pluck another flower from the ground before coming to tuck it into your hair behind your ear. “Now you can look like us!” 

You burst out laughing, flattered at the inclusion. “Thank you.” You say, sliding the daisy ring as far as it’ll go down your pinky finger. Which is just above your first knuckle, but it’s the thought that counts. “I love it.” You show it off to her and her friends. 

“Hey, flower girls! Look this way.” Natsuya calls out to you and Akari and holds his phone camera up to snap all four of you together. 

Your first reaction is to pull away and act sheepish, but you figure if you’re going to get roped in anyway, you might as well be cute about it. So you hug Akari a little closer to you and hold your hand up once more to show off your new daisy bling, giving Natsuya an innocent, camera-appropriate smile. 

“That’s gorgeous! One more!” He snaps away for another few seconds before giving it a rest. The girls scramble over to Natsuya’s side to inspect the photos and seem satisfied with the results. You chuckle at the sight of the three girls huddled around Natsuya’s broad shoulders to get a look at his phone. Absolutely precious. 

“[Name], what do you think?” He turns the screen towards you to give you a look. The girls are absolutely adorable, with big, toothy smiles and confident poses. And you don’t look half bad next to them with that flower in your own hair. 

“I love it.” You shrug. There’s no other answer. 

“I’ll send them to you. Give me your contact info.” He says, pulling up his messaging app. 

“Oh, it’s okay. You can just send them to Aka-chan’s mom. I can get them through her.” You really don’t need to add another facet to your already complicated thoughts about Natsuya. Having his contact information on hand all the time would definitely make you overthink even more. 

“Nonsense, you know a big part of my life story already. We’re through with the formalities.” He announces, “Besides, it’s about time I got your info anyway, don’t you think?” He’s already holding out his QR code for you, so it looks like you won’t be getting away this time. 

After scanning it and adding each other as friends, he sends the photos right away. And wow, he took a lot more than you thought… There’s got to be about ten of them here, some in which you look ready, and some in which you don’t. There is a really cute candid one of Akari putting the flower into your hair for you though, and you can’t help but smile as you save it immediately. 

“Thank you,” you tell him. 

“No problem.” He says before his attention is pulled back towards his daughter, who requests a ride on his shoulders. 

You take the opportunity to make your exit when the two start walking off, letting your sister know and saying goodbye to all the other nearby parents. The walk back to your bike feels just a little bit heavier with Natsuya’s name now in your phone. 


	2. There is Love

Natsuya asks you out. 

You’re kind of just sitting there in the living room staring at nothing when your sister finds you, wondering why this feels so unexpected. You had only been texting occasionally for about a week or so when he asks. And with the privacy of the personal messages, you finally get a chance to share more intimate and personal conversation with one another without worrying about being overheard by underage or prying ears. 

You never went too far with the juicy details because you’d go nuts if he ended up replying several hours later after getting caught up with something. Though in retrospect, you suppose that could have been seen as baiting since you only ever teased him with part of a story. Which is why he proposes a date where he can finally get to know you one-on-one. 

“You said yes, right?” Your sister all but demands, like you might be punished if you gave any other answer.

“N-Not yet…” You’ve been thinking about it for the past hour. You want to, but should you? 

She stands beside you and stares you down, “Pick up the phone right now and say yes.” 

“What?” 

“Now!” 

“Okay! Okay!” You scramble to start typing what you hope is a casual ‘sure!’ in reply. “There. It’s done. Can you stop scaring me now, Sis?” 

She’s not listening. She’s too busy praying to the gods and thanking them for getting you a date… And with Kirishima Natsuya of all people. “Hallelujah. Hallelujah!” 

You groan and fall into the couch cushions while she rambles on about the ‘budding potential’ she always knew she saw in you two. 

You thought that she’d stop with the meddling from there, but she ends up having quite a hand in setting up your date. She goes out of her way to volunteer to babysit Yumeko while Natsuya is out with you. “It works out great! He can drop off Yume-chan here and pick you up at the same time! You’re welcome.” 

You had not thanked her, for the record. But you suppose you should if this date turns out well. It’s not a big deal, just some coffee and maybe dinner afterwards. You try not to feel too nervous about it, but you still end up changing your outfit about three or four times before deciding on one. 

The doorbell rings and you hear Akari’s excited voice downstairs as she rushes to the door to answer. You do a last check in the mirror and in your bag to make sure you have everything before heading down the stairs yourself. 

“Hey,” you greet everyone gathered in the living room, where they’re just going over a few small details with one another to ensure a happy play date. 

Both Natsuya and your sister turn around to look at you at the same time, but Natsuya greets you first with a smile. “Hey, good to see you.” 

“You, too.” You nod before coming closer to greet Yumeko too. 

“Hi, [Name]-san!” The little brunette jumps when she waves hello. Cute as ever. You talk to the two girls for a bit as Natsuya and your sister review any last details before he crouches down to the floor. 

“Yume, come give Papa a hug.” He holds his arms out. 

“Bye, Papa!” Yumeko jogs up to wrap her arms around Natsuya’s neck and give him a kiss on the cheek. “Have a good time!”

“You too, bunny.” He squeezes her and ruffles her hair before letting her go to reassure her that he’ll be back this evening. “Have fun, everyone. And thank you again for doing this.” He says to your sister one more time before she shushes him and ushers you both out of the house. 

“Is it just me or did she really want us out of there?” Natsuya jokes as he walks down the front yard path with you. 

“I’m sorry about that,” you groan, “I’m pretty sure she’s been more excited about this date than either of us.” 

“Really? Well I can’t have her outdo me.” He smiles as he leads you to a sleek-looking black motorcycle with a bit of lime green trim on some edges. 

When he hands you one of the helmets resting on the seat, you blink a few times before accepting it, “I had no idea you drove one of these.” 

“Hm? Ah yeah, when I’m just dropping Yume off to school, I take the bicycle. But when I need to make longer trips out into the city for work or training, I use this baby instead.” He pats the engine. “I used to just commute by train or bus, but some guys on the swim team got me into the world of big boy bikes. Don’t worry though, this is an urban bike, so nothing heavy duty. I drive with Yume on this sometimes too. Got a great silencer and everything.” 

“O-Okay.” You honestly wouldn’t know the difference, but the idea of riding on the back of a hot guy’s motorcycle has always been something of a teenage dream. So you slip on the helmet without another word and choose to trust that Natsuya will take care of everything. 

It takes you a couple tries to get mounted behind him properly, but by the time you realize you’ve got your arms wrapped around his waist and your chest pressed into his back, he’s already got the engine started. And once he’s zipping through the suburban city streets towards the freeway, you’re more focused on the exhilarating speed and experience than you are about your proximity to Natsuya. 

Everything whips by so quickly it almost looks like a blur, but Natsuya’s control over the vehicle leaves you free to relax into his back and enjoy the ride. And he travels quite a distance, driving along the seaside for a while before arriving at a port at the farther edge of town. You almost feel disappointed when the ride is over and he shuts off the comforting engine beneath your legs. 

He gets off first and helps you down, but you’re still so taken from the ride that you don’t expect to be blown back by the way he shakes his messy hair out of the helmet. “Did you enjoy the ride?” He smiles. 

So unfair. 

“It was so much fun.” You manage to say when you hand him back the helmet and attempt to adjust your hair without a mirror. “How do you keep getting cooler than you already are?” 

He laughs heartily, “Just wait ‘til you see this place I’m gonna show you.” 

You’re already wide-eyed when you see the outside of the cafe. It’s a gorgeous wooden cabin with big windows that look out into the portside. The interior is just as impressive as the outside when you go in to order your drinks and a snack platter. All the tables and chairs and booths have a woodsy look about them, and there are beautiful pots and vases of flowers set up all over the space. There’s also a staircase that leads to a second floor with more floor tables and cushions. 

However, you and Natsuya choose a table outside to enjoy the nice weather and get an unobstructed view of the water. “This is great, Natsuya-san. How did you find out about this place? It’s quite out of the way of the city.” 

“It’s funny the things you find when you’re just cruising.” He leans back in his chair and rests his hands behind his head, “That’s another reason why I really like the motorcycle. Wish I had one back in the days when I was traveling.” 

“Wish I had the gall to travel around the world without a plan like you did.” You laugh, “Which place was your favorite?” 

The both of you chat about general life experiences as your orders come, taking breaks to snap photos, enjoy the food and drinks, and go off on tangents about other topics you have and haven’t mentioned to one another already. And as the conversation goes on, he finally starts inquiring about the more scandalous experiences and opinions you have yet to reveal. 

You’re no prude, and you have had boyfriends before, but even your wildest college story can’t hold a candle to a single night Natsuya has spent in the Olympic Village or his strange adventures getting lost in new cities. You enjoy all the gossip and flirting, but you’re also pleasantly surprised when the conversation eventually redirects to more SFW topics and of course, back to his daughter quite a few times. 

When he chatters on about Yumeko, it seems he gets lost in happy memories. Honestly, no other conversation you’ve had with him brings about an aura as bright as when he’s talking about his sweet little girl. Sometimes, he rambles, so you just lean in and sip on your drink as you listen, entirely entertained by his absolute weakness for the kid. 

He also likes to show you pictures to accompany the stories he tells, and you can only laugh or coo at how adorable and funny Yumeko is. The only thing you can add to the conversation is your interactions with Akari, but you hold yourself with the same pride and passion Natsuya does. 

“Ah, sorry, I know I must be talking about her a lot.” He stops himself at some point when the drinks are gone and the sun is beginning to set. “Feel free to stop me whenever. I know it can be annoying when all parents want to do is talk about their kids.” 

“Mm, I don’t have a problem with it.” You hum, “I get a lot of that at home with my sister and Aka-chan anyway. I don’t expect parents not to talk about them when they take up most of your life. And it’s not like you can keep talking about the past forever.” 

“I suppose you’re right about that.” Natsuya leans into the table and looks out into the sea, “Something that happened a lot when I tried dating after Yume was born was that a lot of women didn’t really understand that I couldn’t ever prioritize them over my child. Some of them would get upset when I couldn't spend Christmas or Valentine’s Day alone with them, or when I had to cancel a date last minute, or I couldn’t wake up with them in the morning…

“A lot of people say they’re okay with dating someone who has kids already, but the reality of it always proves to be much harder than they expected.” He finally turns his gaze back to you, eyes bright and full of genuinity. He’s laying it all out on the table for you. “I’m not looking to disappoint anyone, but Yume really is always going to be my number one. I can’t change that. I’m not just Natsuya the pro swimmer or the olympic athlete or the carefree world traveler anymore. No matter what changes in my life or career or anything, I’m never gonna stop being a father.” 

It’s silent for a few moments, both of you taking in the serenity of the atmosphere. You take your time to process all of his words, his declarations. Even if he didn’t mean it that way when he shared his thoughts with you, it still serves as a warning for you to consider before you take it any farther with him. If you ever want to be with Natsuya, you have to accept this integral part of him. 

Hearing all of this, you know what to expect. You know dating Natsuya means accepting two people, and that those two people will always choose each other over you. And for some reason, you feel incredibly calm for once. The only thing you need to figure out is how to word yourself properly. 

After a while, Natsuya seems to think the silence lasts too long, so he tries to follow up, “Sorry. I understand if you—” 

“I don’t really know you as Natsuya the pro athlete or Natsuya the olympian,” you start, “You’ve always been Yumeko-chan’s Papa to me, even after learning about all your previous accomplishments and adventures. You get more and more interesting and cool as I learn more about you, but I don’t think my idea of you as a father has ever changed even so. And maybe this might be presumptuous of me to say, but even with all the olympic medals, and the adventures abroad, and the cool motorcycle, I think you’re at your best when you’re with Yumeko-chan.” 

You take a moment to slide a little further back in your chair, Natsuya’s intense gaze making you a little nervous again. “And, uhm… I quite like that side of you, Natsuya-san.” You clear your throat, darting your eyes away for a minute. You can’t take it. 

Natsuya takes you in for a moment, leaving you to simmer in the silence this time, but he relieves you rather quickly, “Thank you. I’m pretty taken by that understanding side of you too.” 

“Thanks.”

“It’s getting kind of late, why don’t we order some dinner here? They’ve got a lot of options.” He changes the subject, lifting the heavy atmosphere off your shoulders. 

“Sure.” You agree easily, and the rest of the evening diverts to the more flirty nature it started with. You share a pasta, salad, and a small pizza with him, sharing stories about Italy and making western food at home. 

You stay for another hour before Natsuya announces he should pick up Yumeko before her bedtime approaches. So you follow him back to where he parked the motorcycle, clutching the helmet excitedly. The moon is starting to get brighter in the sky. You wonder what a ride at night is going to be like? 

“[Name].” Natsuya says so abruptly that you almost crash into him when he swings around to face you. 

“Y-Yes!” You cry. His eyes are so beautiful. He’s so tall. And— And he’s very, very handsome. 

“I had a really great time tonight with you.” He proclaims, “I want to do this again sometime. What do you say?” 

Your heart spikes at his straightforwardness. He really must’ve been a killer back in his prime. “Y-Yeah. Of course.” You manage. 

“Great.” He smiles before lifting you up to sit on the motorcycle. You don’t get a chance to close your eyes when he pulls you in for a kiss because you’re still registering the shock, and he pulls away before you can reciprocate. “I can’t wait.” 

Without another word, he slips the helmet onto your head and helps you mount the bike properly before climbing on himself. You’re a little too dazed to fully enjoy the ride back home. 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


After that evening, Natsuya makes an effort to meet you one-on-one every so often for another date. But for the most part, the after school playdates for Akari and Yumeko turn into unofficial dates for you and Natsuya too. Neither of you make it too obvious, but you’re pretty sure the girls are onto you. 

You don’t act too affectionate since you’re still getting to know one another, but there are times when he holds your hand on the bench, or sneaks a kiss at the bike racks before pickup, or gives you a compliment to intentionally send heat to your face. It feels kind of pointless to be so lowkey about it when 3-year-old girls are not the best at keeping secrets. All the teachers in the girls’ class know at this point, and so do a few classmates, you’d guess. But luckily, no one is too invasive about it. 

A couple weeks after your first date, you’re looking forward to going out with Natsuya again for a night out on the town, but he calls you a few hours before the evening to tell you his babysitter cancelled and he can’t find another one so last minute. “Do you think maybe we could ask Akari’s mom for help again?” 

“They’re actually visiting her grandparents tonight, so I don’t think that’ll work.” You say. 

“Man, that’s too bad. I’m sorry, [Name].” Natsuya sighs, “I was really looking forward to tonight, but are you okay with taking a rain check?” 

You hum in thought before suggesting something else, “How about this?” 

At the originally planned time for your date, you show up at Natsuya’s doorstep with a few grocery bags in hand. When he opens the door, he greets you with a big smile, “Hey, thanks for coming.” He takes the bags from you and invites you inside. “Yume! [Name] is here.” He calls into the apartment. 

The little girl comes bouncing into the room before coming to hug her dad’s leg, “Hi, [Name]-san.” She greets in a smaller voice than usual. You can understand, since this is far from the normal setting that you’d usually interact with her. 

“Hi, Yumeko-chan.” You smile, “I heard you like gyoza. Is that true?” 

She nods slowly, touching a finger to her lip as she observes you. 

“Well, I bought a bunch of ingredients to make some. Want me to teach you?” You continue. 

“Okay.” She nods. 

“Great.” You clap your hands together, “Why don’t you and your Papa go wash your hands and we’ll get started right away?” 

“Okay.” She nods again and takes her dad’s hand as he leads her to the bathroom, leaving you to set up all the ingredients on the dining table first. 

After everyone’s sleeves are rolled up, you get Natsuya and Yumeko to mash up the ground pork and wash the cabbage while you chop up all the garlic, ginger, and chives. Once everything is chopped up, you have the father and daughter duo mix them all together in a large bowl until you deem it ready. As they take turns mixing, you take a few photos of them. 

Once the filling is ready, you pull out the gyoza wrappers you bought premade. “Alright, everyone. Here comes the hard part. Are you ready?” You announce, taking a seat at the table across from Natsuya and adjacent to Yumeko. 

“Yes!” The two nod. 

It takes about an hour to teach them how to wrap and press the gyoza into shape and use up all the filling. You probably folded up at least half of all the gyoza you ended up with, but the other two fair well enough. Natsuya picks up on it eventually and he splits his attention between his own gyoza and helping Yumeko with hers. You do your best to keep her feeling encouraged. 

At one point, you boop a flour-covered finger on each of their noses just to keep the atmosphere lively, but you get booped right back. In Yumeko’s case, she had put her whole hand on your cheek, so you end up with a messy, flour-y handprint on your face. “Me too, bunny.” Natsuya sticks his cheek out for her to press a matching handprint on. 

You all giggle at the sight and Natsuya takes the opportunity to snap a selfie of you three before you have everyone get back to work. When it’s time to cook them, you take care of the pan-frying while Natsuya simultaneously whips up a quick miso soup and holds up Yumeko to watch beside the stove. “This is great, [Name]. We’ve never had homemade gyoza before.” He commends. 

“Well, if you ever want to make some more, now you know how. And you can also ask me.” You pour the water into the side of the pan, letting it slink and flow along the rest of the pan to puddle around the gyoza before you cover it to let it steam. “We can cook maybe half of these and leave the rest in the freezer so you can eat them next time.” 

By the time you’re at the dinner table with fresh and crispy-bottomed gyoza, the awkward atmosphere has all but dissipated. “It’s so yummy!!” Yumeko exclaims after she finishes her first piece. 

“Really?” You ask. “I’m so glad.” 

“It really is some of the best I’ve ever had.” Natsuya compliments as well, “Wanna try one of mine?” He holds out one of his slightly misshapen gyoza up to feed his daughter, who opens her mouth to take a big bite. 

“Papa’s tastes good too! Try mine, Papa.” She sticks her fork into one of her own oddly-shaped pieces and holds it up to her dad. 

Natsuya engulfs the whole thing and chews proudly, making dramatic little hums, “That’s good stuff, bunny. So good.” He pats her head and Yumeko bounces in glee. 

“Here, [Name]-san. You can have one of mine, too!” She stabs another one to hold up to you this time. 

“Oh, thank you, Yumeko-chan.” You lean forward and try to get the whole thing in one bite too before pulling back and giving her a thumbs up. You chew as quickly as you can so you can tell her that it’s delicious. 

“Here, have one of mine too.” Natsuya holds his chopsticks up to feed you one of his own gyoza. And even though you had just eaten one from Yumeko, this feels a little different. He’s looking at you with a quiet mischief in his eyes that speaks beyond eating.

“Okay,” you manage not to stutter as you lean forward and try to bite the whole thing again. Natsuya’s eyes are far too intense as he watches you wrap your lips around his chopsticks and start chewing. “Mmm~ Yum.” You say, looking over to Yumeko and hoping she didn’t pick up on anything weird just now. 

Dinner is finished and Natsuya elects to do the dishes while you get acquainted with everyone in Yumeko’s doll and toy collection. When Natsuya is done, he brings over some fruit and pulls out a board game to play. 

The evening continues rather easily as you entertain Yumeko with games and watch her dance and act. Natsuya is smiling almost all the time, though it looks different when he’s directing it at Yumeko than when he directs it at you. It’s not the date that you imagined, but it’s pretty fun in its own way. Natsuya still scoots close to brush his arm or hand against yours to steal a kiss every so often. You never manage much of a reaction because your attention is soon taken by something new Yumeko brings up. 

By the time Natsuya brings Yumeko in for a bath, you realize that you’re kind of exhausted. You sit there on the couch staring at nothing even though Natsuya said you were free to turn on the TV. You really just need a moment to zone out… or ten. 

You thought you’d be used to this since you help take care of and entertain Akari at home too, but this is something else entirely. It feels like a step into the world of being a housewife. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it really did take up quite a lot of mental energy to keep up with the bright and bouncy Kirishima Yumeko. She really is an olympic athletes’ daughter. 

“Wee!!” An excited voice zips back into the living room, and Yumeko swerves from the hallway to jump onto the couch beside you. She stares up at you with a toothy grin and laughs. 

“Are you all clean?” You smile back. 

“Yup!” She sits up and shakes out her wet hair, not unlike a dog would. 

You laugh as several droplets spray at you before you offer, “Would you like me to help you dry your hair, Yumeko-chan?”

Yumeko tilts her head up and puckers her lips in thought for a moment before asking, “Can you braid it after, too?” 

“Sure can.” You answer. Next thing you know, you’re being dragged back towards the bathroom. The first door is open but the second door that leads to the actual bathing area is still closed. Natsuya must still be in the bath. “Natsuya-san!” You call out, “Can you tell me where the hair dryer is?” 

“Ah! It’s in the second drawer under the sink.” His muffled voice calls back. “Hold on, I’ll get out now and help.” 

“No, no, it’s fine. Take your time. I’ll help Yumeko-chan with her hair. Enjoy your bath.” You say as you open the appropriate drawer and pull out the dryer and hair brush. 

You close the bathroom door behind you before heading back into the living room and plugging in the hair dryer to the closest outlet to the couch. You use the reflection from the sliding balcony door as a mirror and seat Yumeko between your legs to start drying her medium-length hair. 

She makes silly faces in the window reflection and pretends she’s being styled at a hairdresser as you work, and you can only smile as you watch. Once her hair’s dry, you scoot back in order to start working on braiding it. 

“Papa doesn’t know how to braid hair.” She mentions as you comb down and find a middle part. “So Yume always wears her hair straight.” 

“Hmm.” You reply, setting one part aside to start on the first braid. “Do you want to wear your hair differently more often, Yumeko-chan?” 

“Yeah! Like Aka-chan always has two half-piggies! Or Hana-chan has a ponytail. Or Ama-chan always wears clips.” She keeps listing her different classmates and hairstyles that they have, and you realize that she’s quite observant. You’re impressed that she even knows all the names to all these hairstyles. 

“Then what does Yumeko-chan like best? Braids like these?” You ask, finishing off the first one and tying it up with a spare hair tie on your wrist. 

“Yeah! I want my hair to grow long and then I can have one suuuuper long braid like Rapunzel.” She says. “Do you know Rapunzel?” 

“Ohh, I do. That’d be very pretty.” You hum, “Do you want me to teach your Papa how to braid your hair then?” 

She gasps at the offer, “Yes! Please!” 

“Okay, I’ll be sure to train him until he’s perfect at it.” You chuckle, wondering how Natsuya will fare trying to play with something as versatile as a girl’s hair. 

After a moment, Yumeko hums thoughtfully, “Do you like Papa, [Name]-san?” 

Your fingers pause for a moment before you recompose yourself and continue braiding, “Yeah. I do like your Papa.” You confess. “Is that okay with you, Yumeko-chan?” 

“Mmm, yeah.” she shrugs, “Are you gonna keep coming over to our house then?” 

“Oh, uhm…” That, you’re not so sure about. You don’t want to be too presumptuous. “If you both will have me, then sure. I’d love to cook something with you again.” 

“Me, too!” Yumeko says, and you breathe a sigh of relief. “I want you to come to our house more. That way, we can cook more, and you can braid my hair more, and Papa will be smiling all the time!” 

“Oh?” Your heart flips in your chest. Did she notice changes in Natsuya too? Does that mean something? “But your Papa is always smiling, Yumeko-chan.” 

“Yeah, but I think he smiles more when he’s talking to [Name]-san. He says you’re really nice. And pretty.” You almost lose your grip on the tail of the braid as you’re tying it up. How much of this should you be hearing? You can’t stop grinning now. 

“He did?” You can’t help asking either. “Well, he makes me smile a lot too. I like talking to your Papa. And you. You make me smile a lot too, Yumeko-chan.” You speak to her in the window reflection as you glide the two braids to rest in front of her shoulders. 

“Wow, it’s so pretty!” She jumps up and twirls, letting the braids swing around. “Thank you, [Name]-san!” 

“You’re very welcome.” You watch as she continues twirling and spinning her head around, giggling as she does so. Until she accidentally kicks something under the couch. 

“Oh no! My wand!” She cries. And by the look on her face, you’ll have to retrieve it quickly before she actually bursts into tears. 

“Here, let me try to get it for you.” You reassure her as you sit on your shins on the floor to bend down and look underneath for the fairy wand toy. There’s just enough light to spot it, and it’s a tight fit, but you think you can squeeze your arm through to grab it. 

You’re groaning as you reach and feel for the toy when Natsuya returns to the living room from his bath, “Hey, sorry for taking so long. Thanks for—” He stops mid-sentence, but you’re in the middle of a mission. “What’s going on here?” 

“My wand went under the couch.” Yumeko whines, but it doesn’t sound like sniffles just yet. 

“Here! I got—” You grab onto the first thing you touch, pulling it out from under the couch. “—something…” It’s just a dusty book. Guess there was something else that was forgotten down there. 

“My wand…” Yumeko continues to pout. 

“Hold on, Yumeko-chan. I’ll try one more time.”

“[Name], you really don’t have to. I can get a broomstick or… something…” He trails off, but you’re already busy reaching your arm back underneath for the toy. 

Mounting yourself on your other hand, you press your cheek to the floor to get a visual on the wand and you see that it’s rolled off even further back. “Ugh…” you groan before pushing yourself closer to the floor and couch to extend your reach. “Almost… almost there…” 

Just as your fingertips touch the round stick, you roll it towards you until you can get a steady grip. “Aha!” You shout, lifting your head to look up, when you come face-to-face with the reflection in the balcony window. 

Natsuya has a dark expression on, more intense than you’ve ever seen on him before. His bottom lip is caught between his teeth and his hands are balled into fists hanging from either side of the towel that’s around his neck. And his hooded eyes are pointed straight at… 

It’s only then that you realize the position you’re in, and what it may have looked like earlier; your chest and face pressed into the floor while your back was bent and arching your ass high into the air. Now that you get a look at yourself, you see that your shirt has slid down a portion of your back too, revealing a section of your skin. 

Quickly clearing your throat, you re-grip the baton and tear your gaze away from the reflection so you can get up and return the wand to Yumeko. “W-Why don’t we wipe this down first? It was a bit dusty down there.” You suggest, pointedly avoiding looking at Natsuya as you walk into the kitchen. 

After you get the wand back to Yumeko, Natsuya puts on a movie and you sit on the couch with Yumeko between you two, though she leans against Natsuya’s side. He’s got his arms stretched out along the back of the couch, and though he doesn’t pull you in, he rests his large hand on your shoulder, occasionally playing with your hair. 

Yumeko makes it through about half of the movie before falling asleep on Natsuya’s lap, but he waits until she’s breathing a little deeper to carry her to bed. Once you’re alone in the living room, you breathe out a long sigh of relief. 

You don’t think you imagined it, what with the way Natsuya kept teasing you with his fingers in your hair or tickling at your neck during the movie, but he seemed to have been giving you bedroom glances. You met eyes a few times during the movie, but you felt the atmosphere thicken and build each time. But you couldn’t do anything with Yumeko sitting between you too. The tension had you sitting way too straight, and now you can finally take a breath. 

You decide to stretch your legs and take the empty fruit plate from earlier over to the sink. As you rinse it off, you feel a large presence loom and press against your back. “Natsuya-san…” you gasp when his lips press into the side of your neck. 

His hands are on your hips, but they are very intentionally sliding down to cup the curve of your ass. “You looked absolutely delectable on the floor earlier.” He murmurs into your ear before giving it a light nip. “Saying you were ‘almost there’ and all that. I’d love to make you say that again...” 

You mewl at the feeling of his lips on your neck again. Dropping the plate in the sink, you turn in Natsuya’s hold to face him and meet his hungry lips properly. God, they feel so good. It’s been a while since you’ve made out with someone, let alone gotten laid. 

You and Natsuya haven’t slept together yet — you’ve never had the opportunity to — but now that you’re at his house and his kid is asleep, you feel like you should’ve seen all those arrows before they started flashing in neon, ‘time to FUCK!’ Are you nervous? A little. But you are much more excited because you know that with Natsuya, everything that scares you ends up being the best experience. Flirting, motorcycles, dating, and now… 

“Would you like to come to my bedroom?” He offers in a low, tender voice that only feels appropriate to listen to by candlelight. 

“Yes.” You breathe. 

He carries you, too.

  
  


*

  
  


Natsuya smells like clean soap and bathwater, but his sheets smell like lavender. After he places you on his bed, he goes to gently close the door and turn on a dim bedside lamp. The warm glow reflects off of his skin perfectly. 

His shirt and shorts are off in seconds, and you’re not quick enough to follow because he’s already back on top of you, kissing you hungrily, obsessively. His hands run all over your body, squeezing, rubbing, stroking, and you whine into his mouth in approval. When he starts lifting your shirt up to touch more of your skin, you gasp as his fingertips brush underneath your breasts, leaving you wide open for him to slip his tongue in. 

You clutch his shoulders as he licks his way around your tongue, coaxing you to fight back. And you would if you could, but the texture of his skin beneath your palms is too sweet to resist. You can’t focus on anything else. He’s ripped, hard and smooth. And so big, you realize. “Mm… Natsuya-san…” You mewl when he occasionally lets up for air. His kisses press so softly against your skin, down your jaw and neck… You don’t even realize your eyes have closed in bliss. 

Once he has your shirt in his hands though, you have no choice but to arch your back and lift for him to help you pull it off. “God, you’re beautiful.” He huffs in a low voice. It’s the first thing he’s said in a while, and the dark look in his eyes has you shuddering. 

He should speak for himself. You finally get a chance to trail your eyes down from his face and feast upon the muscular torso, thinly-veiled abs, sharp hips, thick thighs… Maybe you had always seen him just as Yumeko’s daddy but this body proves that he really is a national athlete. You have to turn away and touch your lip to make sure you’re not drooling. 

Natsuya pulls your chin forward to face him again, not letting you escape, “Don’t tell me you’re suddenly getting shy on me?” He smirks, leaning in to kiss you before moving down to suck at the skin of your breasts. 

“N-No… it’s just…” You trail off, hypnotized by the feeling of his mouth on your chest. He’s definitely trying to leave a mark there. 

“Just what?” He pops off, pulling down a bra cup to start mouthing at a nipple. 

The way he’s looking at you as he flicks his tongue all over it… Is it legal to be that hot? He is easily the hottest guy you have ever dated, and if he’s amazing in bed too… What are you to do?

“Just… guess I forgot you’re a pro.” you confess. 

Natsuya sucks at your nipple for a few more breaths before coming up to laugh, “You saying you like my body?” He stands on his knees to show you, and you can’t help your eyes. You’re staring so hard, trying to scan and build a blueprint for every line and curve you see. And when you see his abdomen flex, you turn away again with a gasp, covering your mouth. 

He laughs again, pulling your hand away from your face. Your breath hitches as he presses his lips so tenderly into your wrist before resting your palm flat on his chest. Oh yes, this is definitely all muscle. You trail your hand down, letting your fingers catch along the bumps and plateaus of his torso, until you slow down at his navel. 

All eyes are on your hand as you pause, then curve your hand downwards to cup at his hard bulge trapped beneath his briefs. You have to swallow in order to keep the salivation from escaping your mouth. You palm his erection for a few moments, trying to visualize an estimate for his size, but your impatience gets the better of you and you’ve already pulled his briefs down. 

You gasp when he juts out, long and thick, far above average and most definitely one of the bigger that you’ve ever had. Without any thoughts running through your mind, only the desire to  _ feel _ , you grip him right at the middle. Then you stroke, watching intently like you’re studying it at a lab table. You don’t realize that Natsuya’s reacting until you hear his breathing become louder. 

Glancing up, you see his tongue darting back in between his lips, like he had just licked them. Seeing that makes your own tongue twitch for a chance to come out and play. So you do just that, flicking your tongue at the tip of his dick while maintaining eye contact — not because you’re trying to be sexy; you really don’t have the mental capacity to think about what you’re doing anymore. You just know you keep wanting to feel and taste, like you have no brain about you. 

Sucking around just the head proves to fill up quite a bit of your mouth already, so you keep bobbing at just the tip for a while to get accustomed to the feeling. “You’re very big, Natsuya-san.” You say before pushing another inch into your mouth. 

The pained look he has on his face is one you’ve never seen before. Natsuya, the charming and smiling dad, suddenly looks like he’s having a hard time. You’d love to take it even further. 

Relaxing your throat, you push forward as far as you can without warning, and even then you only manage to bring your lips around just the lower half of his length. “Mmm…” You hum around him at the thought, wondering how he’s gonna fit inside you.  _ Is _ he going to fit inside you? 

“Agh, fuck.” Natsuya grunts, pushing his fingers into your hair. Gripping at your roots, he starts moving your head himself, fucking you slowly on his cock. You have to grip at his thighs to hold yourself up, especially when he starts to go faster. “Stop me if it’s too much.” His voice is husky, like it was a huge effort to just say that, but he stops holding back once you hum in approval. 

His hands get tighter in your hair, and his hips start moving forward too, all but slamming his cock down your throat. Fuck, how deep is he trying to get it? You’re struggling to breathe but you love how tightly he’s holding you, how breathless he sounds above you. Your nails dig into his thighs as you try to hold back your gag reflex, yet somehow, that seems to spur him on more. 

“God, you’re so good at this. You’re holding up so well for me.” He praises you from above, panting, “Shit, baby.” 

You moan, and Natsuya’s hips go erratic. He doesn’t call you by pet names very often, but when it slips out on occasion, it’s like he’s sharing a little secret with you. You absolutely love it. “I’m gonna come…” He says. 

And you welcome it, humming and moaning and pushing yourself even closer to his hips. You want him to come straight down your throat, to feel his dick twitch inside your mouth the entire time. Whether you can do it or not has yet to be confirmed, but you know you want it. 

When he comes with a long, but quiet groan, you all but hug his thighs to your chest, forcing him to stay inside you for as long as you can take. You put up a good fight for a good several seconds, but he keeps going — like a fucking fountain. You pull off and cough until you can regain your composure, but by that time, the remaining dribblets have already landed on your chest. 

Looking down, you stare for a bit before tossing your bra aside and absentmindedly spreading it with both hands across the expanse of your chest. Playtime with Natsuya’s cum ends quickly though, because he pushes you onto your back again to kiss you fervently, panting against your mouth, “You were so good. You really tried to take all of me…” as he slips his hand down your pants. 

You squeak as he breezes under the panties and goes straight for your lips, spreading the slickness that’s gathered with his fingers, “God, and you’re so wet. Is this all for me?” 

He slips a finger inside without warning, and you gasp, wrapping your arms around his neck and squeezing his hips between your thighs. His fingers are long and thick, much like his cock yet enough, even when he slips a second one in. “Oh!” you yelp, your hips bucking when he touches a sensitive spot inside. “Natsuya-san…” 

“Hmm? Right here, was it?” He presses into it again, and you shriek a little louder this time. “That’s the one.” he smirks, pumping his fingers in and out of you while his other hand works at pulling your pants and underwear down. You help kick them off once the waistband reaches your knees, and now your legs are able to wrap around Natsuya more freely. 

Crossing your ankles behind his knees, you spread yourself open in a diamond for him to plunge his fingers in deeper, which he wholly appreciates. He adds a third finger and fucks them into you slowly but deeply, making sure to stretch you out from the inside. “Natsuya-san… faster…” You beg. You can feel the pleasure coiling in your gut, and you want to feel it as soon as possible. 

He grunts in response and presses his thumb into your clit for good measure, rubbing circles that grow more and more violent as his finger fucking speeds up. “Ah! Ah!” You cry into his neck as you ricochet towards your peak. “I’m gonna— gonna come!”

And just after you say it, he pulls away from you, letting your arms fall to the side of the bed. You’re left confused when he pulls his fingers out of you as well, but continues his assault on your clit, which keeps you going but leaves you feeling like you’re missing something. 

However, he has the answer ready for you as he lifts your hips with his knees so he can aim his cock at your entrance and slide all the way inside you with a single thrust. “Agh!!!” You scream, but Natsuya covers your mouth with a large hand as he keeps rubbing your clit, sending you to your peak with his cock to fill up the empty space inside you. 

With his hand on your face, his thumb on your clit, his cock stretching your walls, and his face smirking down at you, you can’t stop your bucking hips from all the stimulation, nor can you stop your own voice. Natsuya leans down so his face hovers right above yours, “You know, I just put Yume to bed. Wouldn’t want her waking up to find you like this, would we?” 

You whimper, heart stuttering and walls fluttering with the way he talks to you, the way he looks at you. There’s nothing you can do other than nod under his palm and keep rutting your hips up against him, chasing the aftereffects of your splendid orgasm. 

“You doing okay, baby? How’s it feel?” He leans up again, caressing your sides. 

In the wake of your orgasm, you had only enjoyed the feeling of him inside you right as you came. But now as you come down, you realize that it really is quite a stretch. There were a few tears that trailed down to your ears. “It’s big.” is all you say — is all you’re capable of saying. But you’re still clenching as he looks down at you like you’re a meal he’s only just begun digging into. 

“Sorry. It’s been a while.” he grunts, his own jaw clenching before he leans down to kiss you, “I just  _ had _ to be inside you as soon as I could.”

“Mm…” You whimper, chasing his lips when he pulls away just the slightest. He obliges with a chuckle and kisses you for a while longer as you get properly accustomed to his size. 

“God, you really had me trying to take it slow. But you just do the littlest things that make me want to see you naked, play with your cute little pussy. I’ve been waiting so long to touch you like this, to see you under me like this.” He keeps murmuring into your ear, occasionally rutting or rolling his hips into yours to help with the stretch. But when he brings a hand up to caress your throat, he whispers, “Hope you don’t mind if I’m a little rough.” 

Screw the wait, you’re ready. You wrap your legs around his waist and say, “I can take it all.” 

So he answers with his first thrust, slow and deep. “Oh, I know you can.” he smirks, “Saw for myself earlier.” 

Oh god, now that he mentions it, you had practically impaled your throat onto his cock earlier — basically outing yourself with how horny and willing to please you are. How embarrassing. But you suppose it doesn’t matter because that’s what gave Natsuya the confidence to go as hard as he wants on you. And you are definitely curious about how much sexual energy he hides behind that flirty father exterior. 

He starts with propping your leg on his shoulder, while pressing the other down against the mattress so he can keep you spread wide and pump into you  _ deep _ . Fuck, he’s so big. He doesn’t even have to try and his length already feels like it’s enough to touch your cervix. “Shit. Natsuya!” You gasp as he angles himself differently and hits somewhere new and dizzying. “Agh, you’re so deep… so big.” you ramble, clenching around him just to feel the thickness holding strong against your walls. 

“You sure you’re not just tryna sweet-talk me now?” He smirks, leaning down, stretching your leg farther and burying himself ever deeper inside of you. 

“Agghhh…!” you moan, overwhelmed by the fullness. It’s so much, but you don’t want it to stop. 

“Shhh, what’d I say about keeping it down?” He kisses your lips and nips at your jaw. “Imagine what Yume would think, walking into this. Can’t have her thinking her big, strong Papa is actually a monster.” 

You yelp when he starts thrusting faster, leaning back again to hold your hip and leg in place as he fucks into you. You have to smack your hand over your mouth when he pulls your other leg up to rest on his shoulder, hugging your thighs to his stomach so he can pound his hips into your sorry, sopping pussy. Shit, he’s hitting you so hard, so  _ good— _

It comes before you realize, your orgasm. Your vision had only just started getting spotty when he was hitting a sweet spot inside of you when he pressed his fingers into your clit again. And just like that, you’re coming all over his thick cock with your hips hanging in the air from Natsuya’s broad shoulders. 

Not only that, he angles his hips further upwards, and keeps your orgasm going by hitting a spot inside you that has you going blind. You can no longer keep your hand on your mouth, you have to claw the sheets to cope with pleasure spreading through your body that makes your toes curl and your back arch further away from the bed. However, that leaves your voice unobstructed as you cry out Natsuya’s name amidst your garbled screams. 

He stops thrusting, and eases on your clit, so you think you can finally have a chance to recover. However, he sighs as he pulls out and sets your body down, only to flip you over into a familiar position that you were in just earlier tonight — this time with far less innocence about it. 

“Seems like you’re not getting it about keeping quiet.” The way your pussy throbs at his voice and how he presses your head into the pillows even though you had just come seconds ago… God, you want him. “Guess I’ll just have to take care of it myself.” 

Your body shivers when he picks your hips up and has you stick your ass up towards him so he can slip right back inside without a hint of resistance. You’re so lubed up by your own emission that it drips down your thighs when Natsuya takes up all the available space left inside you. In this position, he stretches you differently, and when he pulls back to slam right back against your ass, it hits you in an entirely different realm. 

He was smart to press your face down into the bed like this, because there is no way that anyone in this apartment — maybe even on this floor — wouldn’t have heard had you not been muffled by the pillows and blankets. What’s more, he keeps you held down, his fingers tangled in your hair while his palm presses into the back of your neck. 

Your arms are outstretched in front of you, clutching at the end of the mattress as Natsuya drills his cock relentlessly into you, fucking you with reckless abandon and groaning out nonsense, “Fuck, it feels like you just keep getting tighter, baby. You feel so good. Want you to squeeze the life outta me.”

As he gets closer, he lets go of your neck to grip both of your hips, holding you in place so he can fucking pummel you with his monstrous dick. He moves so fast and so hard, you can barely register the fact that he’s constantly leaving and entering you, the only telltale proof being the loud slapping sounds of his skin against yours.

“Natsuya!” You gasp, finally coming up for air. You hug one of the pillows to you to keep it ready to scream into, “It’s so deep. Don’t stop.” 

“Wasn’t planning on it.” He chuckles, hips still pistoning into you without a sign of exhaustion. But he’s still getting closer, you can begin to tell by the way his rhythm changes and his hands grip tighter on your hips. The way his balls slap against your clit is ridiculously lewd. “Damn, baby. You’re so good. Keep squeezing me. Keep going.” 

You whine into the pillow, doing as he says and squeezing him every time he hits your deepest point. It’s like your walls cling to him when he pulls back, begging him not to leave. Your mouth begs him not to leave too, but you hope he doesn’t hear it too clearly as you chant his name over and over into the pillow. 

He wraps his arms around your waist and keeps you hugged tight against him when he comes inside you, spurting ropes and ropes of pent up sexual tension into your already full pussy. You feel like a water balloon, but he stays inside and holds you tight until the feeling fades. In the meantime, he gets you off just one more time by bringing a hand down to your clit once more, rubbing you into another burst of white so that you’re pulsing and fluttering around him all over again. 

“Shit, I will never get tired of how well your pussy reacts to me.” Natsuya leans down to whisper into your ear. His chest slides against your sweaty back, “You can’t get enough, can you?” 

He’s still touching your clit as he asks, and you can only shudder and moan into the pillow in response. Natsuya kisses at your shoulders and neck for a few more moments before he finally pulls out and moves to find something to help clean you up with. 

Luckily you showered before you arrived tonight, so you don’t feel too gross when Natusya pulls you into his arms to cuddle afterwards. Now that the horny tension has been relieved a bit, you can more fully appreciate being pressed against Natsuya’s hot body. Your hands can’t stop caressing his skin; he’s really just tight, lean muscle. 

“You know,” he starts, taking one of your exploring hands into his to intertwine and play with your fingers, “even after all that, I still think the sexiest thing about you tonight was how well you got along with Yume.” 

“Oh yeah?” You tilt your chin up to look at his face. But you somehow didn’t expect the warm and tender look you get after a fuck like that. It makes your heart flip reflexively, and your fingers squeeze his back. 

“Mhm,” he smiles, “She was telling me in the bath how much fun she had tonight. And how she wants you to come over more often.” 

She did? She had told you as much earlier when you had been braiding her hair, but to hear that she talked about you with her dad makes your heart swell more than you expected. You didn’t realize how much you had been hoping for Yumeko’s approval. After all, if she didn’t like you, then surely it’d be harder to get closer to Natsuya, too. 

You blink a few times, trying to ignore the slight sting in them as you look at Natsuya, “Really?” your voice comes out weaker than you thought. Now you really sound like you’re about to cry. 

And for some reason, that makes Natsuya smile even wider. He brings your intertwined hands up to his lips, pressing a tender kiss into your knuckles. “Really. I think she’s starting to like you just as much as I do.” 

That makes you press your lips together and avoid his gaze again, catching you off guard. But you look back up at him when he says, “Thank you. For putting in so much effort today. No one has ever done that for us before.” He kisses your knuckles again, “No one I’ve tried dating, at least.” 

That’s as much as you can take. You can’t watch him looking at you any longer, otherwise you might actually overheat. So you pull yourself closer and bury your face into his neck, ready to go to sleep like this. You hear Natsuya chuckle before he lets go of your hand to reach over and turn off the light before wrapping his arm around your waist to settle in with you. 

You rest in silence for a few minutes before you find the courage to murmur into his neck, “Let’s do it again sometime.” 

He pulls you in tighter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the bike i imagined for natsuya in this is the kawasaki z650 if you're interested


	3. There is Growth

You’ve gotten promoted.

This came faster than you expected it to, but your company seems to think you’ve proven your worth and wants you to apply your skills in a better environment and position, so they offered to transfer you to one of the larger branches of the company in the city. Though you had been prepared to stay at this branch for another year or two, this is what you’ve been wanting from the start so you couldn’t bring yourself to refuse. Plus, this would be the opportunity to finally bite the bullet and move out of your sister’s place. 

Though you had been using the excuse of saving up for an expensive inner-city apartment eventually, you’ve honestly had enough to make a down payment for a decently sized place for a little while now. But what with you still working your way up in your company and taking up more responsibility in helping out with Akari, you had put it off for a while longer. 

Now that you’ve got an official start date for your new job after all the interviews, visiting orientations, and official paperwork, it’s finally time to start packing your things. One of the best perks of all was the company helping you find and finalize a new place to live before you made the switch, so you’ve already got a nice, new, roomy 2-bedroom apartment waiting for you to break in. 

Announcing this to everyone definitely brought about mixed feelings. Everyone was happy for you and sad about the prospect of not having you around as much anymore. Especially because you’re going to be a good two hours away, so you likely won’t be able to visit home more than twice a month. 

Your family were overall happy with it and though your sister was lamenting the fact that she’d no longer have a reliable errand-runner around, she was glad to have more space in the house again. Akari cried, so you had to comfort her with a trip to the convenience store for some ice cream and a deep chat. 

And though you should have expected this, considering she has a similar personality and is best friends with your niece, Yumeko cried too. To comfort  _ her _ , you wrote her a little note on some origami paper and showed her how to fold it into a flower, which she then taped in her room somewhere. “If you ever miss me, just think about the message I left inside that flower, okay?” You also reassured her that she could always ask her dad to call you. 

The conversation with her dad, however, felt the most complicated of all. You had been dating Natsuya for several months at this point, and though it wasn’t a short amount of time at all, your relationship still feels quite new. It’s already tough to get alone time together, so you often have to have family dates where you can include Yumeko — which you don’t mind, but it definitely makes buildup slower since you have to keep all your interaction PG. But to suddenly add long distance to the equation, you feel like you’re just adding more complications than should be added. 

Natsuya had reassured you without a worry, “If you can make room for both me and my daughter in your heart, I can deal with waiting every couple weeks to see you.” Plus, he added that once he was officially training again, he’d probably have to be traveling about more often too, and that this was a good way to “test how strong” your relationship is. 

You have your worries, but this isn’t something that can be changed at this point, so you’re just going to have to have faith and try your best. Maybe if you manage to stay with Natsuya long enough, you could even live together one day. He did say that he intended to have Yumeko attend school in the city, after all. 

But like always, you don’t want to get ahead of yourself, imagining something years away when you haven’t even made it to an anniversary as a couple yet. Things have been going well so far, but the uncertainty for the future never seems to leave you. 

You get out all your anxieties during the car ride as your sister helps you transport all your belongings for the move, and she listens patiently and offers only encouragement. Honestly, she still feels as invested in your relationship with Natsuya now as she did before you even started dating, so she’s pretty much doing everything in her power in order to keep you two together. “I’m sorry, but Natsuya beats out any of those guys you dated in the past. And now that you’ve made it this far, I am not going to stop until we get that ring on your finger!” 

“Sis!” It is way too early to be even  _ imagining _ that. 

“That being said, I will happily host as many slumber parties as you need when Natsuya makes his way over to visit.” She says, smiling fondly, “I have high hopes for you guys.” 

You sigh and sink into your seat, but you’re grateful. As meddlesome as she is, you love her for trying so hard to push for your happiness through Natsuya. After she helps you bring all your boxes and luggage into the apartment, you treat her to a meal in the neighborhood before sending her on her way. 

Once you step back into the clean, unfurnished apartment, you move toward the window to get a load of the view outside. This is it. This is your fresh, new beginning. You have a lot of work ahead of you. 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


Natsuya makes his way up to the city when he gets an invitation to observe and help coach a joint university swim team training camp. You’ve only just begun settling into your new job and home for the better part of two weeks, but you have definitely missed him and everyone else. 

You’re still learning to get along with your new colleagues, so you haven’t found many friends outside of your old classmates and companions who were already living here. And you were hoping to visit home sometime this or next weekend, but what with learning all the ropes and getting used to the transition, you don’t think you’ll have the energy or opportunity to make a visit until maybe the end of the first month. 

So you’re actually quite grateful for this opportunity to see your boyfriend after a while. You had been doing fine over phone and video calls and texting almost every day, but shirtless photos and virtual hug stickers could never beat the real thing. And while he’s here for the two nights, he stays with you in favor of the provided hotel room the university swimming association offers. 

Thank god, because you really did need to make up for lost time by letting him break in every fuckable surface in the apartment and finally getting a chance to be as loud as you want without inhibitions. Getting to sleep in a little more without having to worry about accompanying Yumeko to the potty was also quite a luxury you never yet got to experience. 

Yet somehow, “I miss Yumeko-chan…” You murmur against Natsuya’s chest. You were cuddled together under the blankets after a late afternoon romp on his second day here. He would be heading back tomorrow morning. 

“She misses you, too.” He runs his hand down the back of your head, occasionally playing with your tangled hair, “She always happens to tell me right after I try to cook something that you taught us how to make.”

You laugh and hug him closer, your heart blooming at such an adorable and hilarious notion. “Shall I pack a bento for you to bring back tomorrow?” you offer. Just a little piece of yourself to take home and share with his little girl. 

“I’d love that,” he hums, rolling you onto your back to kiss you. He continues kissing you as his fingers trail down between your legs again, “In that case, I’ve got to pay you for your efforts.” 

It’s a thorough payment, and definitely worth waking up earlier to prepare and pack as many of their favorites as you can into a two-tier lunchbox. You have Natsuya tuck it securely into his backpack so that it won’t go flying about during the commute home. He holds you to him and kisses you for a long time when you walk him down to his motorcycle, and it only just begins to hit you that you probably won’t get to see him again for another few weeks. 

“I’m gonna miss you so much.” He groans when he finally pulls away. You tell him the same before he comes in for a last peck and mounts his bike, “Love you, babe.” 

“Love you, too…” You smile, still getting used to saying it, but meaning it nonetheless. “Say hi to Aka-chan and everyone for me, too.” 

“You got it.” He winks before putting on his helmet and driving off. God, you miss him already. 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


The next time Natsuya comes up to visit, he brings Yumeko with him. You’ve been settled here for a couple months now and you’ve finally established a more regular schedule of visiting home every two weeks or three weeks. This weekend, however, both Natsuya and Yumeko were completely free from training and extra curriculars, so he asked if they could come up together. 

The three of you spend the two days and one night exploring the city, eating at themed cafes, visiting the huge public library, hanging out at the playground, shopping, styling hair, and baking cookies for them to bring back home. Yumeko wasn’t comfortable sleeping by herself in your spare bedroom though, so you let her sleep between you and Natsuya in your bed that night. Needless to say, you did not have sex that weekend, but you’re just thankful that Yumeko had at least told you both upfront and prevented an unexpected walk-in fiasco. 

It was a sweet experience anyway. Somehow, having Yumeko trust and accept you into her life to the point that she’d sleep in your bed makes you feel more officially connected to Natsuya. He had stared at you a lot that night as you whispered to Yumeko and patted her side until she fell asleep, telling you without words how much he loved you in that moment. 

The evening you help Yumeko pack up the cookies to take home and share with Akari and her friends, she cries on the way to the car — which Natsuya had borrowed from a friend for the weekend. It takes a while to stop the tears, but you’re quite proud of yourself for being able to calm her down. 

“Yumeko-chan, did you have fun this weekend?” 

“Mhm.” She nods, sniffling in your arms. 

“Are you gonna miss me?” You chuckle. 

“Mhm.” 

“I’m going to miss you, too. So what do you say you come up again sometime and we can have a ton of fun together again?” 

“Okay.” She nods. 

“Okay.” You echo, “Let’s do it. I’ll see you again soon, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

And just in case, you pull out your secret weapon — a small lollipop for the road. She’s sold. 

On the phone later that night, after Yumeko has gone to bed, Natsuya commends you and thanks you again for the whole weekend, “You’ve gotten really good with Yume. Are you sure you aren’t meant for kids?” He laughs. 

“Hmm…” That’s a legitimate question. You definitely don’t have the same mindset you once had before, though you can’t necessarily say it’s changed much either. “Before you, I was always more hesitant about it. Even though I love Aka-chan and I was around her all the time, I never saw motherhood for myself because kids are such an anomaly. But this situation is really different from all that. I feel like if I couldn’t gain Yumeko-chan’s acceptance, then I couldn’t deserve you.” 

“Aw, babe.” He chuckles, “That’s so cute.” 

“Shut up.” You huff, glad he can’t see you blushing. “I still don’t know if I’d ever had a kid myself, but Yumeko-chan is a huge part of your life. I could never turn away from her.” 

“And that’s what I love about you.” You can hear his smile even over the phone. “Your heart is big and makes room for every part of us.”

It honestly wasn’t that hard. Natsuya is easily one of the most charming and attractive guys you’ve ever met and his daughter is definitely cut from the same cloth, embroidered with extra lively energy and angelic cuteness. You still find yourself wondering how you managed to keep them for yourself. 

“It’s a shame though,” Natsuya adds with a hum, “I wouldn’t mind seeing what kind of kid you and I would make together.” 

“N-Natsuya!” You gasp, scandalized. And yet, your heart flutters. A child? With Natsuya? You are certainly not ready for anything like that, but you can’t help romanticizing it despite knowing the reality of child-rearing. 

“Don’t worry, it’s just a thought I was entertaining.” He reassures.

Still, you can hear a softness in his voice that gives you reason to believe it’s more than a casual passing thought. And that kind of warms your heart. 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


“Hey, I was wondering. Would you like to meet Kaya?” Natsuya asks over an evening phone call.

Your hands rest atop the shirt you had just been folding, “Kaya-san? You mean Yumeko-chan’s mom?” 

“Yeah. It’s a national holiday in her country next month so she’s flying over to stay with us for a few days.” He explains, “I was thinking, if you had time, maybe you could make your way down during that weekend and meet her with us?” 

“Oh. Uhm…” It would make sense to. Yumeko’s mom is still a part of their lives, even if her appearances are rare. You’ve been dating Natsuya for over a year at this point, and you’ll have to meet her eventually, won’t you? You hadn’t gotten the chance so far because Natsuya and Yumeko had flown over to see her the last time they met up. If she was coming to Japan, then now was as good a time as any. “Yeah. Okay.” 

“Really? Great! I’ll let the girls know.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Kaya actually doesn’t speak much Japanese, so your English skills are really put to the test with this interaction. You can make simple conversation, but you still need to ask Natsuya to stick around to translate every so often. 

Yumeko doesn’t fare much better than you, since she mostly uses Japanese in her day-to-day life, but Natsuya has done well to practice with her on occasion and show her English media and entertainment when he can. But even with the language restraints, she seems relatively comfortable with her mom. They play games and interact with one another with unmatchable energy, shouting in all kinds of languages together. You can definitely see where Yumeko gets her spunkiness from. 

And even with bare communication, you can tell that Kaya is a passionate and conscientious individual. You suppose you can understand Natsuya’s original attraction to her. She cares for her daughter and Natsuya like dear friends, and though she isn’t as experienced with all the traditional mothering tasks, she makes a wonderful playmate and mood lifter in the house. You can’t help but get caught up in the bright atmosphere. 

When you’re doing the dishes together as Natsuya gives Yumeko a bath, she tells you, “I can tell Natsuya really likes you. Yume, too.” 

“A-Ah. I’m uh, trying my best.” You reply, handing over another plate for her to rinse. “But I really like them too. They are very special to me now.” 

“I can tell.” She laughs, “I’m so glad they found such a lovely soul to bring into their lives!” 

“Thank you.” You smile, handing over another dish before saying, “I am glad Yumeko-chan has such a wonderful family.” 

When the dishes are done and Yumeko is finished with her bath, your heart swells when she comes to you to have her hair dried and braided. You suggest having her mom do it for her, but she insists on you, so you happily accept the task. When you have her sit on the same spot on the couch as always to face her reflection in the dark balcony window, you try not to notice the extra two pairs of eyes watching as you take care of Yumeko’s hair styling. 

Once you’re done, you figure that you should get going. You switch back and forth between staying at your sister’s house and at Natsuya’s whenever you visit home, but you decided to let Natsuya and Yumeko enjoy their time together with Kaya this time. 

“I’ll walk you out.” Natsuya says. He’d probably have offered to drive you home if you hadn’t already ridden your bike here today. 

“Me, too!” Yumeko jumps forward. 

“Ah! Yume, wait. I need your help with this castle.” Kaya calls to her from the living. “Why don’t you let Papa handle taking [Name] outside tonight?” 

“Well…” Yumeko looks between you and her mom for a moment. 

“It’s okay, Yumeko-chan. I’ll see you again later. Enjoy your time with your mom.” You reassure her. 

“Mm… okay. Bye bye, [Name]-san!” She waves to you before bouncing over to her mother, who gives both you and Natsuya a knowing smile before giving all her attention to her daughter. 

“Goodnight.” You bow to them before making your way out of the apartment. 

Natsuya wraps his arm around your waist on the way down to your bike in front of the apartment building. “You girls all got along a lot better than I hoped.” He’s been smiling all evening. 

“Kaya-san is really friendly. And it’s cool to see where Yumeko-chan gets all her personality traits from. She most certainly didn’t get her observational skills from you.” You joke. 

“Hey, I am plenty observant.” He argues, pulling you in close enough to make you trip into him so he can say into your ear, “I just need the right subject focus.” 

You giggle as you push against him to stand back on your own feet. “That’s true. You truly excel when you’re interested enough.” You hug yourself to him once you reach your parked bicycle. 

“And you never fail to capture my interest.” He smiles as he hugs you back. Your eyes fall closed when he pulls you in to kiss you, long and deep, using his hand to cup the back of your head. You match his intensity by pushing to your tiptoes to get closer to him. 

He’s got you captured. Even when fear and uncertainty come one after another, you take it in stride because he always convinces you it’s worth it. When he holds you like this, like you’re the most precious thing in the world to him, you know he’s made the space for you. Sure, he told you that his daughter would never leave his top spot, but he gives you moments like these; dedicated time to you and only you. You can tell he meets you halfway with all the effort. 

“Wow, I’m in love with you.” You realize, breathless. 

“Thank goodness.” He pants, pulling you right back in for more, “Because I’m already in deep.” 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


“Fuck me! Oh, don’t stop!” You cry out as he pounds you into the floor. It has been far too long since you and Natsuya have had a proper all-nighter. 

The past several weeks, it’s been a nonstop accumulation of events, one weekend after another. If it’s not a visiting friend or relative, it’s a work event. If it’s not a family gathering, it’s a nursery school event. The timing hasn’t synced up properly enough for you and Natsuya to spend a full night together in a while, so while you’ve managed a speedy blow job or a quickie in the shower every so often, you haven’t had until now to really get a nice, long, unrestrained, and uninterrupted love-making session in. 

Yumeko, Akari, and the rest of the nursery school are having a special school sleepover event. Everyone who’s attending gets to eat dinner, watch movies, play games, and sleep in their classrooms for a night. The teachers and chaperones put in a lot of work to make the event happen, and many parents — Natsuya and your sister included — were grateful for the opportunity to both see how their kids would fare a night away from their parents, as well as have a night to themselves. 

The best part of all, your sister agreed to pick up both the girls in the morning and take them out to lunch so you and Natsuya can have some much needed alone time. You have never been so grateful for your nosy and meddlesome sister. 

“Natsuyyyaaa…” You rasp, throat dry from screaming so much. 

“God, I needed you so  _ bad _ .” He punctuates with an extra hard  _ smack _ into your hips. He’s got you on your back, hands pressing your knees to the floor to keep you spread-eagled for him to fuck extra deep. You have to use your own hands to push against the wall above your head to keep yourself from ricocheting into whichever direction Natsuya’s hips slam you. “And you were already waiting so perfectly wet and tight for me, weren’t you? You just knew I’d come and tear your little pussy up, didn’t you?” 

“Yes!” You shriek. You don’t really know why, just that it’s the right answer. And if you continue to give him the right answer, he’ll continue his absolutely merciless battering of your guts. “Yes, yes! Ugh, just destroy me.”

“Fuck…” Natsuya grunts, letting go of your knees to lean down and hug your chest into him. You only get a moment to breathe before he’s clutching your shoulders to keep you held down as he resumes his jackhammer’s pace on your beaten cunt. He really does have speed and stamina worthy of national repute. 

After he finishes nailing you on the floor, he brings you to the couch to have you ride him backwards against the balcony window’s reflection, making you watch yourself come as he pinches your clit. Then he moves you to the bath, where you suck him off under the spray of the shower and bend yourself over the tub for him to pound you from behind. Then to his bed, where he sweet-talks you tenderly as he draws out your orgasm for almost an hour with slow, mean strokes and deep, thorough kisses. 

And when he puts on a movie to watch on his laptop, you warm his cock by lying on top of him as you both face the screen from the side of his bed. It’s comfortable on his chest and you’re surprised at how hard he remains throughout the first thirty minutes of the film before you both start rutting against each other again. The movie is left to play on the nightstand as Natsuya steers your hips with his hands at whatever pace he likes for the remaining hour. 

You’re both a mess when you fall asleep, but you wake up absolutely sated and  _ relieved _ of all the sexual deprivation that had been built up over the course of the past two months. You even wake up first and stir him up with a blowjob late the next morning. “Fuck, you’re a goddamn angel.” He groans, dragging his hands up his face and through his messy hair. 

There’s a glow about you both when Natsuya drives you back to your sister’s house on his motorcycle to also pick up Yumeko. Your sister doesn’t mention it until Natsuya and Yumeko are both gone, but she gives you a curious look as she prepares you a cup of tea, “Wow, you look like you’ve gotten five years younger. You must’ve really needed that.” 

You’re still rather dazed, but you sigh dreamily when she passes along the cup of tea, “I'm really in love with him…” 

A huge smile spreads across her face as she watches you, probably looking hopelessly lovestruck, “Yeah. You totally are.” 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


“So, Yume is starting elementary school next year. And I’ve got her on the waitlist for a couple of schools here in the city.” Natsuya tells you one night after he’s put Yumeko to sleep in the guestroom of your apartment. It took her a few tries, but she’s a little older now and more comfortable in your home. “If she’s accepted, looks like we’ll be moving into the city, too.” 

You smile as he squeezes your hand, unable to believe that Yumeko (and Akari) are going to be old enough to go to elementary school soon. “That’s really exciting, Natsuya. I can’t wait to see Yumeko-chan in a little school uniform!” 

“Me, too! She’s going to be too cute for words, seriously.” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “So… What I wanted to ask you is… if Yume gets enrolled into one of the city schools…” 

“‘When can you move in’?” You finish his question for him, unable to hide your smile. 

“Uh…” He rubs the back of his head, looking uncharacteristically sheepish. “I know it’s a big request. Feel free to take your time to think about it. But I figured since we’ve been together for a while now, and I’m pretty serious about you, and Yume really loves you, and—” 

“You can move in with me.” You answer without hesitation. “I can’t wait to have you.” 

“Really?” He searches your eyes for any sign of uncertainty. But you’re as sure as can be. 

“Mhm.” You nod. 

“You’re absolutely sure?” 

“My home is your home.” You confirm, shrugging, “You’ve long become family to me.” 

He takes a slow breath through his nose before attacking you with a kiss, holding your face to him as he presses you against the back of the couch. “You’re family to me, too.” He whispers against your lips, kissing you again. “I’ll make it official one day.” 

You don’t want to get ahead of yourself, despite already falling this deep into him. But you can’t help but hold hope to that promise. 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


You have to buy another shelf to hold all of Yumeko’s toys and books. They had already donated some of them, but there were still enough to take up all the floor space in her room, hence the need for something to help her organize them. And despite how spacious your apartment felt when it was just you living there alone, the addition of two new people and their belongings definitely leaves less free space. 

You had bought as much space-preserving furniture as you could that would match the interior of your place, with hidden drawers and cupboards that could be flipped open with a pull of a knob. But three is still bigger, fuller, and messier than one. Not to mention more of a party every night. 

The two had moved into your apartment officially just a week before the school year was about to start. In that time, you and Natsuya had taught Yumeko the geography of the neighborhood, the different routes to get to school and home, to always wear her student name tag around her neck because it would have their contact information on it in the case she ever got lost or needed help, and attended orientation together. There’s already a picture of the three of you standing under the cherry blossom trees by the school entrance hanging on the living room wall. 

Natsuya accompanies her to school on the first day, but Yumeko is pretty courageous and shows no fear walking there and back home on her own from thereon. You help her braid her hair every morning, and she has loads of stories to share throughout the first week. She handles her homework pretty well on her own too. You and Natsuya help her occasionally, but she’s fairly independent for a first grader in a new city. 

Not to mention she really enjoys helping you cook dinner. You leave a step stool in the kitchen for her to help you with simple tasks like washing vegetables or mixing and battering ingredients. You let her practice cutting with a small knife sometimes, too. At this rate, she’s going to know how to cook whole meals on her own by next year. 

And as planned, now that Yumeko is able to attend school and take care of many more things on her own, Natsuya has more freedom to focus on athletic training. He’s returned to the national training center in the city, where he meets with trainers, coaches, and other athletes to get back into the rhythm of national competition and olympic training. He was already outrageously fit for a dad, but you can definitely see the little changes starting to trickle in as his body grows tighter and stronger by the week. 

You’re ever thankful that your specific birth control increases your sex drive, because living with Natsuya leaves you tirelessly bruised and battered in the best way possible. He’s an absolute animal, ravishing your body almost every night and on the better half of most mornings. It’s become a little joke among your colleagues who tease you every time they notice a small stutter in your step. 

Living with the Kirishimas makes your life three times as busy. You’re exhausted more often than not, between working full-time, childcare, housework, self-maintenance, and loving on your boyfriend, you barely have a moment to yourself anymore. And yet… 

.

.

.

“[Name]-san, look! I drew a picture of us today!” Yumeko pulls out her daily journal to show you. 

“Ooh, lemme see, lemme see.” you lean over to look at today’s entry, complete with a colorful illustration of you and Natsuya holding hands, while Yumeko sits atop her dad’s shoulders. 

Today’s topic: My Family. 

.

.

.

  
  


“Hey, my mom wants to know when’s the next time we can have brunch.” Natsuya tells you after finishing a phone call, “And you know what? I told her I’d be busy with training for a while and she said that I don’t even need to be there!” 

“Oh yeah... she mentioned something about a ‘girls only’ brunch to me once.” You remember, “That’d be kind of cute, wouldn’t it?” 

“It’s cute that my mom prefers your company over mine?” He pouts as he hugs you from behind, “She’s going to steal all your free time from me.” 

“Natsuya’s mom has got it going on~” You sing, switching up the lyrics to the popular English song Natsuya had shown you a while ago. 

“Do not even!” He pulls you away from the sink, making you shriek in laughter as he lifts you off your feet for turning one of his favorite songs against him. 

  
  


.

.

.

  
  


“Hi, Mrs. Kirishima, please have a seat.” Yumeko’s teacher gestures to the chair across the desk. 

“Oh no, actually it’s [Surname]. [Surname] [Name].” You correct sheepishly as you take the offered seat, bringing Yumeko to sit beside you.

Natsuya is off at a training camp out of town, so you’re filling in for him at today’s parent-teacher conference. It’s your first one, so you’re a little nervous. 

“Oh! Right! [Name]-san, yes. How could I have forgotten? I hear about you all the time.” The teacher waves off, apologizing. 

“You do?” You laugh.

“Yes, Mr. Kirishima has mentioned you a few times. And Yumeko-chan is always eager to show off the lovely bento that was made by a certain ‘[Name]-san.’ Isn’t that right, Yumeko-chan?” The teacher smiles at the first grader at your side. 

When she loudly proclaims, “Yes! It’s delicious and cute!” you think your heart might just burst out of your chest. 

  
  


.

.

.

  
  


Yumeko and Akari are always ecstatic about family gatherings because they get to play together just like old times. Since Yumeko moved to the city and Akari stayed in your hometown, this has been the first time the best friends have reunited after starting elementary school. All of the immediate [Surname] family and their partners and kids are stuffed around the table at your sister’s house for this dinner to celebrate a new member of the family — Akari’s newborn brother, Aoi. 

After dinner, you’re gathered in the living room with your sister and mother while the men are washing dishes and cutting up fruit for dessert. You’re holding your tiny, new nephew in your arms and unable to stop smiling at his adorable face. He looks much more like your sister than Akari does. 

“You know, that boyfriend of yours keeps looking this way.” Your mother leans in to whisper, an excited smile on her face. “Seems like he’s enjoying the sight of you with a baby.” 

“Yeah, I know.” You roll your eyes. You’ve been feeling the tickle of eyes on your back since you left the dinner table. “He likes to tease me about it.” 

“That boy needs to hurry up and put a ring on it before he’s making any jokes about babies.” Your sister harrumphs, but lowers her voice when you shoot a warning glare at her. “Oh, come on. It’s been over three years. You live together. You’re practically his wife already! Yume-chan already thinks of you as a mom. All you need to do is put it on paper! This is starting to get ridiculous.” She huffs, though you know she means no harm. 

She also gets easily agitated these days because she has to get up every two hours to feed Aoi. Her usual playful pushiness has mutated into impatient exasperation towards your situation with your boyfriend. 

“Well we’ve already gotten this far. It’s not really that important to me anymore.” You shrug. Before, when you thought things were better done in order, you would have focused more on marriage as a first goal. But since everything pretty much went backwards when you started dating Natsuya, you had basically already been helping raise a child before your boyfriend had eventually moved in with you, giving you a whole family to take care of before you could even think about a wedding. 

It’s a different order than most are used to, but you’ve grown used to it. You’ve grown to love it, actually. Your body and mind are always busy, but your heart is always full. And you didn’t even need to get married to have all of this in your life. 

“I know you’ve been doing things differently from the start, hon, but I’m with your sister on this one.” Your mother pipes in. “It’s  _ because _ you’ve gotten this far that you should tie the knot. Don’t you think you deserve at least that much?” 

You sigh deeply. They could argue with you about this all day — all  _ year _ — but the fact remains that you’re doing just fine as you are now. Yumeko is just starting her elementary school journey, Natsuya is getting increasingly busy as the Olympics draw closer, and you’re swamped with work and housewife duties. You have neither the time, nor the need to get married. 

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


“Natsuya, we need to get married.” 

He had just finished reading with Yumeko before putting her to bed, so he’s clearly caught off-guard but you don't care. “We need to what?” He blinks. 

“You heard me!” You slam a small pile of papers onto the dining table, “This is getting way too difficult for me to do things without legally being Yumeko-chan’s guardian! I couldn’t help Yumeko-chan renew her passport without your signature. Not to mention there are all these other documents that require your physical presence to be approved.” 

He stares at you for a moment before he breaks into a snort, which evolves into a fit of laughter. “And here I thought you were just dying to marry me, but what you really want is to be able to run errands more efficiently?”

“Stop laughing! I’m serious, do you have any idea how many things I can’t do for Yumeko-chan when I don’t have legal guardian rights? If you aren’t here to sign for things or attend appointments, then she might not be able to go on excursions, get treatment at the hospital, travel abroad…” You list off more hypotheticals and even actual tasks you’ve attempted but weren’t able to accomplish because of legal obstruction. It’s been getting more and more frustrating overtime as you try to perform more parenting duties when Natsuya’s too busy. “Ugh, I don’t even wanna think about how we’re gonna have to figure out how to file our taxes.” 

You groan at the thought, clutching your head before pulling out your phone and opening up your joint calendar, “Just tell me when your next free day is. We’ll head to the ward office together and get registered. I don’t know how quickly all the legal adoption stuff will take to come into effect, but the sooner the better. I need to get Yumeko-chan’s passport taken care of or she just might have to watch the Olympics on TV—” 

“No, wait. Please.” Natsuya is suddenly in front of you, pulling your phone out of your hand and clutching your shoulders, “Let’s not get married just yet.” 

“What?” You furrow your eyebrows, “Why not?” 

“I— It just doesn’t feel right yet.” He says, glancing away for a moment, “Plus, I don’t want us to get married for such a hasty reason.” 

“What do you mean it doesn’t ‘feel right’ yet? Natsuya, we live like a married family already. I’m as involved in Yumeko-chan’s life as you are now. You’ve even accidentally called me your wife a few times!” You reason. What’s going to be different if you just sign a piece of paper? 

“It wasn’t accidental,” he lowers his voice, coming closer to you with his arms around your waist, “I really do plan to make you my wife one day. Even though you’re right in that I see and treat you as one already.” 

“So what’s the holdup then?” You try to remain headstrong, but the way he melts you with just his eyes only leaves you pouting. “You’re getting busier with LA coming up. I’m just trying to help ease the workload.” 

“And I love you for that. You’re always picking up my slack and proving just how perfect a wife and mother you are.” He cups your face in his hands, bringing it up so he can give you a soft peck, “But when we decide to get married, I want it to be special. I want it to be a moment you’ll remember forever.” 

“Natsuya,” you sigh, “I cherish every moment I have with you. A moment is what you make of it. I love you so much, and I know you have some intention for our future together. But I don’t really see the need to keep waiting.” You take his hands from your cheeks and hold them in both of yours, taking an appropriate pause before asking, “Will you marry me?” 

Natsuya’s throat catches an unexpectedly nervous laugh, and he takes one of his hands back to drag down his face, “Oh man… you’re really going to make me do this, huh?” He groans before facing you again, “No, I will not marry you yet. Please, wait for me.” He squeezes your hand and steps closer, eyes begging, “Wait for me just a little longer.” 

You want to complain, to object, but you just take a deep, slow breath before saying, “Fine.” He’s really going to have to get on it with all of Yumeko’s legal documents though. 

He kisses your joined hands with closed eyes. “Thank you,” he whispers, “I love you so much.” 

“Yeah, well you still rejected my proposal. The audacity!” You snuff, snatching your hands away and heading towards your bedroom. He’s fast on your heels, likely knowing he’ll have to spend all night making it up to you.

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


About a year later, you and Yumeko are spending the summer holiday in California, sharing a room to yourselves since Natsuya has to stay in the Olympic Village with all the other athletes. A few of Natsuya’s and your other family members are staying on the same floor of your hotel, and you guys spend a lot of your time together when the Kirishima brothers are training or fooling around in the village. 

You’re all seated in the stands of the aquatic stadium for today’s swimming races. The event is absolutely enormous and even though you’ve been completely aware of the fact that your boyfriend is a professional swimmer, spends most of his time training, attends all kinds of important international events, has been to the Olympics  _ before _ , and has been working his ass off to win his country a few medals, you don’t think you ever  _ truly _ understood to what scale his job represented. 

You’ve only ever seen him as Natsuya the father to Yumeko, the man who loves you harder than you imagined capable, the fool who makes plans at the drop of a hat and drags everyone along with him without an ounce of preparation. You’ve been with him almost every day for the past couple of years, you’ve watched swimming races online with him and saw how he shredded other swimmers in the past, you even attended a few of his practices and met his coaches and teammates before. But sitting in this stadium, watching as Natsuya chats with so many different world-class athletes, about to watch him race for a gold medal… It’s only just hit you that the world stage is really  _ this _ big. 

It feels surreal when he spots you and everyone in the crowd. You’re lifting Yumeko up to wave at him and he smiles wide as he waves back. And you’re pretty far away from the actual pool lane where Natsuya stands, but you swear you see him wink at you. Even if he didn’t, you blow him a kiss anyway. God, you cannot believe that is your boyfriend out there. 

For the first few days of races, there are a lot of close results. Natsuya — and his brother, Ikuya — manage to snag bronze or silver once or twice, but Natsuya doesn’t win gold until his fifth one — in a 200 meter freestyle race. 

When you see his name appear at the top of the scoreboard, you think you scream louder than most of your section in the audience. And when you see that huge smile on his face as he’s presented his gold medal at the top of that platform, you think you start tearing up a bit. 

Finally, when you’re allowed through to greet the winners, you dash up to Natsuya with Yumeko in your arms, embracing him in a big family hug. “Papa, you did it!!” Yumeko cheers. 

“Gold really suits you!” You commend, your smile about to tear your cheeks apart. 

Natsuya laughs before he puts Yumeko down beside him to wrap you in his arms for a deep kiss. You feel like you should be concerned about all the bystanders as well as the cameras around the stadium that may be putting this on international television somewhere in the world, but you can’t bring yourself to care. You’re just so, so happy for him. 

When he pulls away, he looks down and shares some sort of secret look with Yumeko before handing her the bouquet he had received. And then, he takes off the gold medal and makes sure he has your eyes locked onto his as he kisses it, before he slips it around your neck to rest on your chest. “I couldn’t have possibly done it without you. This gold medal, and all the other medals and rewards I’ve received, wouldn’t be mine if you hadn’t been supporting me and Yume all this time. So I want to share it with you. I want to share everything with you — whether it’s good or bad. But  _ especially _ something like this.” 

“N-Natsuya…” You’re so touched, you’re speechless. “Thank you.” You want to reprimand him about how his victory is his, and that he should enjoy his first gold since returning to the Olympic stage. But you can’t bring yourself to complain after he just said something so sweet. 

And your throat closes up anyway as you see him ruffling in his team jacket pocket for something before he pulls out a little box. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting. Will you marry me?” He smiles as he shows you the elegant ring tucked inside the box.

“Y-You—” you stutter, eyes darting around from him, to a bright-eyed Yumeko, to all your family and friends gathered a few meters away, some of whom are recording on their phones, then back to Natsuya. “I—” You croak out, unable to help glancing down at Yumeko again. 

She looks outrageously excited, like she’s about to start jumping and shouting if you don’t hurry up and answer. Natsuya must’ve told her and everyone else that he was going to do this. Had he been betting on a proposal on every race he swam in so far? Even with the possibility that he may not have even gotten one gold? The notion is absolutely ridiculous and yet so characteristically perfect for Natsuya, a man as reliable as he is wild. 

You shut your eyes briefly to take a deep breath before shouting, “I cannot believe you waited until the freaking  _ Olympics _ to do this! You and your dramatic ass are always waiting until the last minute to pull something so unthinkably  _ nutty!!” _ You’re throwing your arms around as you babble on, sounding less coherent by the second as you feel tears starting to form in your eyes, “You really think you can just put off all the important details so you can sweep it all away in one big moment and I—!! Agh— Yes.” 

“Yes?” Natsuya repeats in a teasing voice, completely undeterred from his goal even as you start sniffling and crying. 

“Yes, you idiot. I’m marrying you.” You cough, throwing your arms around him to cry into his neck instead. 

He laughs, but you can hear a little crack in his voice from above you. When you finally pull away to let him slip the ring on, you see that he’s shedding a few tears of his own. He wipes them away only after he’s got the ring on your finger and his hand held tightly in yours, and then comes in to kiss you. “Thank you for loving my dramatic ass.” He chuckles against your lips. 

“I always will.” You sniffle.

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


You know that you said you didn’t care about making marriage official between you and Natsuya after all this time, and that your only concerns about it were the complications that came with living together as a family when you weren’t one on paper. You had proposed to Natsuya yourself to prove that you didn’t need any extra frills to a life that you were already happy with. 

But in the end, you’re glad that Natsuya asked you to wait, to make the moment special. You’ll look back on it quite often and relive all the emotions you felt that day, knowing that it was one dramatically different than all the others. And you’ll always thank your husband for giving that day, that moment, to you. 

“You like it that much?” Natsuya catches you admiring your ring one night in bed, slipping his fingers into yours to lift your hands and put it on better display in the moonlight from the window. 

You turn into his chest and bring your joined hands against your heart, “Yeah. It makes me think of you every time I see it.” 

He smirks gently before coming in for a kiss, “Then I hope you never take it off.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> natsuya sings 'stacy's mom' every time he goes to karaoke, change my mind. also shoutout to reader's sister for letting me use her this entire fic. 
> 
> but that is that! i hope you enjoyed it and thank you for all of your comments and excitement leading up to this final chapter. pls feel free to come at me with any more feedback and i will def come to respond this time haha! until then, follow me on [tumblr](https://blushinggray.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/hokshi13) where i'll be spamming natsuya bday fanart for the rest of the day
> 
> EDIT: if you’d like to see a lovely visual of Natsuya and yume, please take a look at this [gorgeous art](https://twitter.com/polysterene2222/status/1317856939091533824?s=21) I commissioned from a wonderful artist! it’s honestly so stunning i could cry


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